The Storm [3]

Joy.

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Laughter.

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Familiarity.

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For some reason, Mars felt the emotions of the King Of Heroes. It was a weird feeling because they weren't his emotions…but Mars and Gilgamesh were fused, so technically, they were his. He noticed how Gilgamesh's overbearing personality affected him, but it wasn't anything worrying. Mars welcomed the intense confidence from the King Of Heroes. Where Mars was closed off and aloof, Gilgamesh was the opposite. Yet they work in tandem.

Mars had died already. In that explosion, he was sure he was blown to meaty smithereens. No, perhaps not. He doesn't remember much about anything other than Chaldea and bits of his family.

<i>"FOOL!"</i>

A commanding voice echoed from within his musing. It was filled with fury, so much it was bound to melt the receiver. It was one word, but it held the force of a fierce leader. <i>A King.</i>

<i>"Don't you dare think of the past! What's done is done. If you proceed to look into the past, you'll never see that bright future on the horizon."</i>

Mars knew he couldn't fight all full power at this rate. His thoughts were messing with him. His enemy was King Arthur, the King Of Knights. It would be disrespectful not to fight her with all his strength.

<i>"It seems you've found your resolve, Mongrel. Very well. It seems like you have your very own weapon that will lend you a helping hand against that undignified Saber."</i>

What was his relationship with King Arthur?

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"Sorry, your majesty, but I've already died once."

Saber's brow twitched, and her glare intensified. The air around Mars was different than before. Saber couldn't feel the King Of Hero's presence anymore. It was as if he submerged deeper into the soul of Mars, giving him full reigns of his power. Now, this aura felt pristine, as if it was pure and void of despair and uncertainty. Saber didn't realize it, but her smile widened. A grin that showed exhilaration. Even her breath hitched for a moment before it regained stability.

"Then, allow me to kill you again!"

With that, Saber sprung forth, taking off like a stallion on a raceway. Mars blinked, and his crimson eyes revealed black silts. His pupils enlarged, and a visage of a young girl pulling up a sword stuck in stone blurred his vision. Mars blinked again, and the same girl was seen on a throne, with a man in front of her with his head down in shame. The girl's eyes were soulless, but deep within, revealed that of a young girl at heart…who had to carry the duties of a king.

The scene disappeared, and a golden ripple appeared beside Mars, but it was different than the norm. This portal began to take the shape of a curved sword. Saber, seeing this decided to halt her approach. Her battle-hungry instincts compelled her to stop and watch as a weapon formed from the golden light. Saber could feel the temperature drop but rise just as quickly. It was a comforting heat. Saber's eyes flickered with a bundle of emotions. She felt calm, just like that day on the verdant plains, as the sun blared overhead, its solar rays giving her a wave of clarity.

She had no idea why she was thinking of that. It was something she tucked away after picking up Excalibur, so why did she remember that?

"Come forth! My very soul, which burns with the heat of ten thousand suns! We shall illuminate the world that the darkness of depravity clings to and purge its vile shadows-"

The golden light began to exude a pressure that Saber felt her Dragon Core react to it. It came as a shock to her. Saber felt her grip shake. No, she wasn't shaking. It was the darkened Excalibur. It was as if it was shivering in pain, wanting nothing to do with the creation of this new weapon.

"SCIMITAR!"

A burst of reddish-orange energy shot in all directions. The winds howled, and the earth bled. The presence of Scimitar was already taking root. The ominous night sky began to light up with stars, their light cascading onto the battlefield. It was a beacon that this world could still be saved…no, that the altered King Arthur could be saved. Mars wanted to help her for some reason. He was sure that the visions he saw were her. He only saw important moments of her life.

And that one moment that flickered like dying cinders. She smiled. It was pure, untainted, and beautiful. Not even the stars could compare to it.

<i>Mars wanted to see that at least once.</i>

The sword, Scimitar, was a bronze sword with a slight curvature. The golden yellow outlines gave it a regal appearance, with the back end of the sword having a red gem placed in it. It was regal but also luminary, carrying a sense of power and purpose.

Saber, for a moment, was enthralled by this sword. It was clear that it was powerful. If she had to rank it herself, it had to be on the cusp of being an EX-ranked Noble Phantasm. Due to Mars's contract with Gudako, it was sitting at an A+. It was still powerful, yet Saber felt a cold shiver.

She knew that Scimitar was withholding more power. It wasn't very comforting. Saber tightened her grip, stopping Excalibur from its nonsensical quivering. She didn't understand why it reacted in such a way.

"Mash. You ready?"

Mars's words snapped everyone out of their trance at Scimitar's appearance. It enraptured the Chaldeans so much that they felt stuck within the sword.

"Of course! But…"

"No self-doubt!" Mars barked, getting Mash to flinch. "We're at the very end. Once we defeat Saber, we get to go back home. We're the last line of defense for humanity. If we're sitting here biting our nails, we will never secure the future taken from us. I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to soak in your doubts! That ends here!"

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<i>AN: Scimitar is the blade Gilgamesh uses in Smite, although I believe it's just a "real" version of Ea, I could be wrong, but hey, I figured I have a bit of fun. Coming up with the invocation was rough, but that was summoning it, similar to how Gilgamesh needs a Key to pull out Ea. And, of course, I have to come up with the chant for when Scimitar uses its equivalent of Enuma Elish.</i>

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<i>So Mars is beginning to awaken the power of Sha Naque Imuru, which is why he was getting visions of Saber Alter, which I'm making a backstory for. I'm also making a backstory for Mordred Alter.</i>

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<i>After this Singularity is over, I will have Mars's stats finished. It's taking me longer than I thought, so sorry for the inconvenience. I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I've been trying to focus more on the characters than the action since I see myself as an action-based writer, so doing dialogue chapters help me improve.</i>

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<i>If you guys got any questions, I will answer them! I might take a break tomorrow, I've been writing non-stop for the past two months, and I think the fatigue is catching up. I've started a Monster Hunter story…, so yeah, I'm pushing myself too much lmao.</i>