Chapter 3: The Guardian, The Heroic Spirit and The Hero

I still dream of it, the sight on the hill, the swords adorning the landscape, as well as her smile, her dark hair and calm gaze, as well as her courage and fervor.

I still remember her guidance, as bright as her sword, seeming distant and fleeting, to imagine that I searched for her for so long that I even got completely lost.

I still remember her little hand guiding me along the path, so childlike, so full of dreams, to imagine that that little girl was older than me.

I was once human, when did I stop being human? the questions come to my head and I only wake up in the middle of the night, where I do what I keep secret, the phrase that guides my life, the one that fills my magic circuits with manna.

"trace on"

that energy flows in me again, the one that traveled with me through my lethargy and guided me to this point, maybe it was a mistake, but now it is happiness for me.

a dagger with a leather hilt and a green blade manifested in my hand and with a slight movement it fell apart.

"the mana in this world is much more pure and exquisite, but my body is not able to fully assimilate."

I couldn't help but get frustrated, after all I had lost much of my abilities, but still I couldn't help but be thankful, because I would finally change the story that I was destined to follow for eternity.

pov: narrator

Time passes in a simple way, Rumi excited by the Gift shown by Shirou used her contacts to take him to a doctor who could evaluate his Gift, who helped them in the best way he could.

"it's quite a peculiar Gift, it can heal both minor and major wounds as well as injuries, although it cannot reconstruct a severed limb it can close the wound caused by the loss."

The doctor calmly explained after a series of tests.

"That's exciting!"

but the excited Rumi was silenced when the doctor's hand made a slight movement over her glasses.

"however, her Gift consumes something in exchange for healing, that is White Blood Cells, do you know what they are?"

"of course I know, but doesn't the body constantly generate them?"

the doctor breathes heavily sitting back in his chair.

"I'll explain it to you, calling them white blood cells is a category, because among them are granulocytes, monocytes and lymphocytes, for the human body to be stable it must have over 4000 cells per microliter of blood, in Shirou's case it depends on the wound the use of White Blood Cells, if it is a minor one, he can use his power 10 or 12 times a day, but if it is a serious wound depending on the magnitude, destruction of skin, bones or even loss of a limb, 1 or 2 times maximum."

Rumi worriedly looked at him and then at Shirou who was on the other side of a crystal performing a blood test.

"what happens if you do it over the allowed amount of attempts?"

"your body will start trying to compensate for the lost amount of white blood cells, as normal, which will have to give you a break, but if you do it consecutively, your body will not be able to generate an amount of White Blood Cells needed to live normally, which will make you develop leukopenia, which makes your body constantly generate few white blood cells, having few white blood cells can generate Lupus, Anemia and even Cancer as other diseases..."

the doctor took a silent pause to look Rumi in the eyes.

"Incurable diseases, I guess you understand that don't you Mirko-Sama?"

her hands trembled as her eyes darted to the doctor.

"Won't he be able to be a hero?"

he shook his head easily.

"it is not recommended, you can choose another profession or direction for your life, but it is better that you let her know as her guardian."

The silence was gradual, for her that was her concern, but for Shirou the concern was another.

*shall I tell him?

recently his night training led him to be able to develop replicas again in an exemplary way, but not in a great level as before, his inner instinct tells him that he should not tell anyone about it since it is cheating to have two powers over the same, but he does not want to make the same mistakes he always made, he wants to change and take this new opportunity to the fullest, he is no longer a Guard tied to his job of cleaning, neither is he a heroic spirit destined to the curse, now he is a hero.

*I must tell him

That day, the walk home was much quieter than expected, there was no practice, at dinner they both looked at each other and awkwardly stumbled over their words.

"Shirou"

"Rumi."

but Shirou lowered his head, waiting for the knock to call her name, but she continued to speak, not looking away from her bowl of rice.

"Your Gift has something in it that will do your body harm if you use it excessively."

she hardly tried to put words together to say it, but sadness filled her eyes.

"p..sorry for filling your head with hope but you won't be able to be a hero."

That struck Shirou's heart, because among his doubts was that one, in which he wondered if he deserved a second chance.

*this is not the time to doubt*

Shirou clenched his fists and opened his right palm in front of Rumi, confused she looked at his outstretched hand.

"And...I have another gift..."

Embarrassed Shirou gathered the mana from around him, it began to run through his body in a visible shade of turquoise, as different lines were marked on his body.

"Shirou?"

confused Rumi looked at him, but soon her confusion turned to surprise, when she saw what manifested in Shirou's hand.

a black short sword with different figures of opaque red hexagons almost as if they were the blood of the sword, its handle perfectly positioned, as well as the design of a white part, just like the symbol of yin and yang.

that sword in his world accompanied him on many crusades, at some point it was in his bad decisions at others it was for the fervor of battle, while at others to protect someone, but he always resorts to them, because for him they represented something important, so at this moment it was with what he would break the chains of the Guardian, the curse of the heroic spirit and become a hero, it is the first step in the descent of the hill of swords.

"I can create weapons."

with conviction he looked at her leaving her words to the surprised Rumi, who did not take her eyes off him.