There are times when I curse the time limit on the library computers. This is incomplete, and hopefully will be finished in a few days. In the meantime, here's a preview.
The world was on fire.
Black fire jumped along the edge of the crater, with red, orange, and yellow flames leaping from peak to peak in of the various objects in the crater. There were structures made of charcoal in the crater, with no sign of identification of what the buildings had been before they had been burned away. The ground was black, either from charcoal or the simple fact that the fires had burned the very ground itself to a crisp.
However, the most unusual detail of the scene was the fact that there were tens of swords impaled in the charred ground, all in pristine condition, unmarked by the flames leaping from hilt to hilt.
There were katanas. There were Chinese blades. There were Irish spears. There were European swords. All manner of pointed and sharp weaponry were scattered around the crater. Each was deadly, capable of powerful effects beyond merely slipping into an enemy's ribcage.
A reflection of Fuyuki from long ago, with the addition of swords from before and during the years that passed, this was Shirou's world. The Forge of the Living Sword.
Shirou quickly strode towards the lowest point, fire ignoring him as he moved forward to the four blades and sword-like object impaled in the ground. The big black sword in the center that stood taller than the teenage boy himself might have towered over a normal blade. In fact, two of swords, Kanshou and Bakuya, seemed to have a paled presence because of the larger blade. However, Shirou knew that the true potential behind the twin Chinese swords were when they were used together; of course each of the two were weaker when used by themselves. Despite the size of Ghirahim, the large black blade actually paled in the presence of the other two 'swords'.
Ea, 'The Star of Creation that Splits Apart Heaven and Earth', wasn't actually a sword. The sword-like object had a series of parts that could turn like a drill once activated, and wasn't meant to be used in one-on-one fights. Ea was meant to end battles between armies, shatter the world to leave nothing behind. It was only through witnessing the weapon itself before Fuyuki was imprinted on Shirou's mind forever that even the pale reflection of the true Ea was even in this world. If Shirou ever pulled the 'blade' into reality, he would have to 'break' it in order to even approach the use of Ea that reduced only Fuyuki to rubble by holding back.
And considering how risky that was to himself, Shirou was hesitant to do so.
"Shirou," came a voice.
The teenage boy turned to see Nanoha standing amid the flames in her Barrier Jacket with a look of horror on her face. The swords were the most dangerous things in this world; despite its look, the fire did not harm anyone unless Shirou wanted it to.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter," Shirou replied, quickly turning back to the swords he had approached, pulling the last of them from the ground.
"Shirou-" she began.
"There's a demon coming to destroy Mitakihara and everyone in it," Shirou replied. "I can make something to destroy it, but it will take me a minute to get it. Can I count on you to hold it off until then?"
The girl stared at Shirou for several seconds, before giving a defeated sigh and nodding with a determined look on her face. "You'll tell me later, even if I have to beat the answer out of you," she stated.
And with that, she vanished from the world, like she had never been there in the first place.
"Warrior," came the connection from the black sword. "Knows place. Like."
Shirou quickly flung a katana with his mind at Ghirahim. That particular sword was always eager for battle, even with the reduced intelligence from the original Ghirahim. It was only from youth at the time of observation that as much as he had was managed to be imprinted in his mind. The world may have been the Forge of the Living Sword, but it was not for Ghirahim that the world was named for.
Shirou grimaced at reviewing which particular katana was flung at the black blade to shut it up for the time being. Karasuba's bloodstained katana may have unnerved him, but even that history was preferred to Deadpool's katana. Murmurings of a 'fourth wall' that he would rather stay away from would run the risk of going through his head if he ever brought that copy into reality; he did not want to risk going insane as the original's wielder, copied skill or no.
The world quickly vanished, flames and swords disappearing as demonic laughter pounded into his head, Mitakihara appearing as Shirou returned his mind to the real world. Nanoha was already in the air, flying about as a speck in Shirou's eyes as she fired several Prana blasts at the demon. She dodged a couple missiles that flew past her to strike the monster, all the combined attacks just slowing the upside-down being down.
Shirou raised his right arm to the side, closed his eyes again, and, in his inner world, he reached for the sword that surpassed all others.
Judging the concept of creation.
The fire inside, as if it had been given gasoline, suddenly spiked in size.
Analyzing basic structure and components.
It roared and swelled, becoming ready to melt metal.
Duplicating the composition materials.
A forge needed fire to allow the manipulation of the shape of steel.
Imitating the skill of its making.
And what fire was better for the process, than the darkest flames that had once ran rampant across Fuyuki?
Sympathizing with the-
WARNING! Operation hazardous for user! Forcing abortion!
Shirou stumbled where he stood, prana running rampant in his body as the sealing device on his arm activated in an attempt to prevent him from tapping into the Jewel Seed in him to fuel the copying of her blade.
"Stops from fighting," the black sword mused in his head. "Stops from all strength. Break it. Now."
Gasping for breath, Shirou was forced to agree with the lesser copy of Ghirahim. In the past, Shirou had no reason to push as far as he could with his magecraft; projecting Noble Phantasms, and even tracing a few lesser ones, was as far as he needed to go. When it came to simple combat, the twin Chinese swords were for superior human-like opponents, the large black sword was for opponents whose skills did not surpass Shirou's own, and all the other weapons were on a case-by-case basis. There had been no need for him to try and bring out her sword.
There was now.
With a grunt of effort, Shirou pulled at the prana that was ravaging his muscles. Deciding that it was a lost cause, he turned his attention to what was left in his own supply. Quickly projecting Ghirahim in his off hand, Shirou swung the sword against his own skin and down on the sealing device that the TSAB had given him several years ago.
Both sword and bracelet shattered, the sword disappearing and the bracelet falling to the ground in pieces.
A large pink beam flew from Nanoha's tiny figure in the sky, blasting against the demon that threatened the city. When the light faded, the laughing demon seemed quieter, with its laughter somewhat restrained and its form showing the marks of many small scratches. Disheveled, with damage done, but still far from defeated, even with the missiles from the force resuming their merciless barrage.
Gritting his teeth, Shirou pulled at the sword in him again, this time, determined to make sure that he would be able to swing it. Ignoring the pain from the now exposed muscle on his arm, he began the process.
Judging the concept of creation.
Analyzing basic structure and components.
Duplicating the composition materials.
Imitating the skill of its making.
Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.
Reproducing the accumulated years.
Excelling every manufacturing process.
"Trace..." Shirou grunted, "On!"
He could only see blood out of his right eye, and he had lost all feeling in his right arm, but something appeared in his grasp.
Black fire jumped along the edge of the crater, with red, orange, and yellow flames leaping from peak to peak of the various objects in the crater. There were structures made of charcoal in the crater, with no sign of identification of what the buildings had been before they had been burned away. The ground was black, either from charcoal or the simple fact that the fires had burned the very ground itself to a crisp.
However, the most unusual detail of the scene was the fact that there were tens of swords impaled in the charred ground, all in pristine condition, unmarked by the flames leaping from hilt to hilt.
There were katanas. There were Chinese blades. There were Irish spears. There were European swords. All manner of pointed and sharp weaponry were scattered around the crater. Each was deadly, capable of powerful effects beyond merely slipping into an enemy's ribcage.
A reflection of Fuyuki from long ago, with the addition of swords from before and during the years that passed, this was Shirou's world. The Forge of the Living Sword.
Shirou quickly strode towards the lowest point, fire ignoring him as he moved forward to the four blades and sword-like object impaled in the ground. The big black sword in the center that stood taller than the teenage boy himself might have towered over a normal blade. In fact, two of the swords, Kanshou and Bakuya, seemed to have a paled presence because of the larger blade. However, Shirou knew that the true potential behind the twin Chinese swords were when they were used together; of course each of the two were weaker when used by themselves. Despite the size of Ghirahim, the large black blade actually paled in the presence of the other two 'swords'.
Ea, 'The Star of Creation that Splits Apart Heaven and Earth', wasn't actually a sword. The sword-like object had a series of parts that could turn like a drill once activated, and wasn't meant to be used in one-on-one fights. Ea was meant to end battles between armies, shatter the world to leave nothing behind. It was only through witnessing the weapon itself before Fuyuki was imprinted on Shirou's mind forever that even the pale reflection of the true Ea was even in this world. If Shirou ever pulled the 'blade' into reality, he would have to 'break' it in order to even approach the use of Ea that reduced only Fuyuki to rubble by holding back.
And considering how risky that was to himself, Shirou was hesitant to do so.
"Shirou," came a voice.
The teenage boy turned to see Nanoha standing amid the flames in her Barrier Jacket with a look of horror on her face. The swords were the most dangerous things in this world; despite its look, the fire did not harm anyone unless Shirou wanted it to.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter," Shirou replied, quickly turning back to the swords he had approached, pulling the last of them from the ground.
"Shirou-" she began.
"There's a demon coming to destroy Mitakihara and everyone in it," Shirou replied. "I can make something to destroy it, but it will take me a minute to get it. Can I count on you to hold it off until then?"
The girl stared at Shirou for several seconds, before giving a defeated sigh and nodding with a determined look on her face. "You'll tell me later, even if I have to beat the answer out of you," she stated.
And with that, she vanished from the world, like she had never been there in the first place.
"Warrior," came the connection from the black sword. "Knows place. Like."
Shirou quickly flung a katana with his mind at Ghirahim. That particular sword was always eager for battle, even with the reduced intelligence from the original Ghirahim. It was only from youth at the time of observation that as much as he had was managed to be imprinted in his mind. The world may have been the Forge of the Living Sword, but it was not for Ghirahim that the world was named for.
Shirou grimaced at reviewing which particular katana was flung at the black blade to shut it up for the time being. Karasuba's bloodstained katana may have unnerved him, but even that history was preferred to Deadpool's katana. Murmurings of a 'fourth wall' that he would rather stay away from would run the risk of going through his head if he ever brought that copy into reality; he did not want to risk going insane as the original's wielder, copied skill or no.
The world quickly vanished, flames and swords disappearing as demonic laughter pounded into his head, Mitakihara appearing as Shirou returned his mind to the real world. Nanoha was already in the air, flying about as a speck in Shirou's eyes as she fired several Prana blasts at the demon. She dodged a couple missiles that flew past her to strike the monster, all the combined attacks just slowing the upside-down being down.
Shirou raised his right arm to the side, closed his eyes again, and, in his inner world, he reached for the sword that surpassed all others.
Judging the concept of creation.
The fire inside, as if it had been given gasoline, suddenly spiked in size.
Analyzing basic structure and components.
It roared and swelled, becoming ready to melt metal.
Duplicating the composition materials.
A forge needed fire to allow the manipulation of the shape of steel.
Imitating the skill of its making.
And what fire was better for the process, than the darkest flames that had once ran rampant across Fuyuki?
Sympathizing with the-
WARNING! Operation hazardous for user! Forcing abortion!
Shirou stumbled where he stood, prana running rampant in his body as the sealing device on his arm activated in an attempt to prevent him from tapping into the Jewel Seed in him to fuel the copying of her blade.
"Stops from fighting," the black sword mused in his head. "Stops from all strength. Break it. Now."
Gasping for breath, Shirou was forced to agree with the lesser copy of Ghirahim. In the past, Shirou had no reason to push as far as he could with his magecraft; projecting Noble Phantasms, and even tracing a few lesser ones, was as far as he needed to go. When it came to simple combat, the twin Chinese swords were for superior human-like opponents, the large black sword was for opponents whose skills did not surpass Shirou's own, and all the other weapons were on a case-by-case basis. There had been no need for him to try and bring out her sword.
There was now.
With a grunt of effort, Shirou pulled at the prana that was ravaging his muscles. Deciding that it was a lost cause, he turned his attention to what was left in his own supply. Quickly projecting Ghirahim in his off hand, Shirou swung the sword against his own skin and down on the sealing device that the TSAB had given him several years ago.
Both sword and bracelet shattered, the sword disappearing and the bracelet falling to the ground in pieces.
A large pink beam flew from Nanoha's tiny figure in the sky, blasting against the demon that threatened the city. When the light faded, the laughing demon seemed quieter, with its laughter somewhat restrained and its form showing the marks of many small scratches. Disheveled, with damage done, but still far from defeated, even with the missiles from the force resuming their merciless barrage.
Gritting his teeth, Shirou pulled at the sword in him again, this time, determined to make sure that he would be able to swing it. Ignoring the pain from the now exposed muscle on his arm, he began the process.
Judging the concept of creation.
Analyzing basic structure and components.
Duplicating the composition materials.
Imitating the skill of its making.
Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.
Reproducing the accumulated years.
Excelling every manufacturing process.
"Trace..." Shirou grunted, "On!"
He could only see blood out of his right eye, and he had lost all feeling in his right arm, but something appeared in his grasp. Out of what he could see with his left eye, he could see a vague shape, but the details of the sword were hidden by a sheathe of wind. As quick as he could manage, Shirou grabbed the hilt with his left hand, to have some control of where he could point the hidden blade.
"Strike air!" he called, raising the sword to the sky.
With a roar of wind, and another burst of prana from the Jewel Seed, the sheathe covering the sword flew apart in a concentrated blast of air directly at the flying demon. The like met like, and the wind that was blowing around the demon ceased as air that had flown from the sword countered it.
The demon, the upside-down woman on a gear, completely stopped laughing, what passed for eyes staring at the little human holding the sword on top of a skyscraper.
It was a beautiful sword, forged by the fae for the woman who tried to be the perfect king. The Golden Sword of the Victorious, the Sword of Promised Victory... not everyone accurately knew the legend, but all knew its name...
Shirou mentally pulled at his rapidly dwindling Od for prana, pulled at the Mana surrounding him, and pulled at the Jewel Seed. He only possessed enough to make one attack with the sword, but it would be the finishing blow.
A beam of golden light gathered on himself and concentrated on the sword, becoming smaller and dwindling to nothing. When it disappeared completely, the sword was sheathed again, this time in the golden light. Shirou himself was covered in blue lightning as the Jewel Seed worked to provide enough prana for its bearer to use. Shouting the sword's name, Shirou used both hands to bring the sword down.
"EXCALIBUR!"
A beam of golden light as wide as a house and as long as a skyscraper was tall flew from where the sword returned to prana from the force of the attack. The light collided with the demon, the witch, tearing it apart as the demon gave an unearthly screech.
It didn't destroy the demon.
No, the demon survived, but screeched in pain even as the light faded. Over half of the woman over the gear was gone, revealing a large black pillar covered in red runes at its core.
After a few moments, missiles resumed their assault on the demon, this time striking the pillar to increased effect. The witch continued to screech in pain as it was forced to the ground, more bolts of pinked prana firing at the demon to join the missiles.
Another pink beam flew from Nanoha. Her most powerful attack typically drew a lot of mana from the area, as well as on her large number of magic circuits. Normally, she wouldn't be able to use Starlight Breaker twice in an area without allowing it to rest for a few days, but Excalibur's blast was made of prana itself, allowing Nanoha to use the aftereffects to manage one more strike.
And that last strike, that second Starlight Breaker, hitting the core of the demon, the 'Grief Seed' of 'Walpurgisnacht', was enough.
The remaining half of the crashed demon came apart, collapsing into a black mist as the red runes disappeared, leaving the pillar to fall to the ground on its side.
As the sun peaked out from behind the clouds, and Shirou's vision from his eye started to fade, he smiled.
Shirou had saved everyone in the city.
That took way too long for my liking, with multiple instances of having to extend this at my libraries, but its finally finished. I'll post the results at a later date.
Still not enough time... in the meantime, here's some of the chaos that is going on in the year.
Year 8: Mitakihara Aftermath
You could have done something. Something else, anything else. You could have sent him back to Uminari. Failing that, you could have stopped him from going out to fight the demon that was threatening Mitakihara.
But you didn't, and now your son had paid the cost.
Shirou wanted to be a hero, and went out and helped strike the deciding blow against the demon. For that, he was considered a hero by many of those in Mitakihara. He had used a weapon called Excalibur (surely he hadn't seen the original sword bearing the name well enough to trace it, right?) to strike the demon, exposing its core for the JSDF and Nanoha to finish off. But at a massive cost to himself.
Shirou's right eye was a bloody mess, the right side of his chest and his right arm were gone, and he was in a coma.
All the while with a happy smile on his face.
Nanoha, who had been the first to find Shirou after his attack, was distraught. It was only with timely medical aid, and young Kaname-san (who had chased after Shirou and Nanoha when they had disappeared) staunching the bleeding until paramedics could arrive, that Shirou still lives.
You managed to heal his eye, but you found out, to your dismay, that you couldn't heal what didn't exist. Avalon, given enough time, will eventually completely repair Shirou's chest and replace his missing arm, but it will take years, if not decades, for it to do so.
When he wakes up, the TSAB (or what was left of it by the end of the year) will be happy to craft him an artificial arm for him to use, but until then, he's one arm short.
You left Mitakihara after using your Soul Gem on the large black pillar, returning home to the rest of your family. Everyone was subdued, but life went on. Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillenia, the first in line to the head of the Yggdmillenia clan, often filled the presence of Shirou when she came over to help Illya with her Second Owner duties, dragging Hayate into the paperwork so that Illya didn't have to do as much. You never noticed it before, but Illya seemed to have held something against Hayate, something that your eldest has finally let go, with a new air of resignation of it being for the best.
Your other daughters, not bound down by the paperwork all the magi in Uminari were generating, started making friends with their classmates.
Between the time of their school starting and the summer break, Miyu befriended a girl going by the name of Yuki Nagato, the daughter of a pair of Mid-Childa immigrants who had decided to 'go native' before you had broken the masquerade. Together, the pair of them read a quarter of the picture books in the small library in their classroom, learning how to read quickly. The two of them might have finished the entire bookshelf, if it wasn't for the self-proclaimed 'future Dead Apostle Ancestor' Haruhi Suzumiya trying to recruit the pair of them for a little club she was trying to form. By the time autumn came around, Itsuki Koizumi Yggdmillenia (seventeenth in line for the head), Ryoko Asakura (the daughter of another pair of Mid-Childa immigrants), and a boy being called 'Kyon' (a local boy who had no connection to any Moonlit secrets) had been recruited to her little 'SOS Brigade', and managed to get their teacher to stop Haruhi from attempting to keep recruiting Miyu and Yuki.
That didn't stop Miyu from delving into bounded fields in her magecraft studies, in the hope that she'll find the one that Haruhi can't walk right through like tissue paper.
Kuro, being more open and active, compared to Miyu trying (and failing) to keep a low profile, was systematically excluded from many of her class activities by her classmates when her teacher didn't intervene. It wasn't until a boy calling himself Makoto spoke up in her defense that she was accepted, abet grudgingly in most cases.
Of course, the world passed on around you. You managed to get the Grief Seeds from Tohsaka, Irisviel's manga sold well (especially the one about Iskander), and Maiya managed to get the manga sold in English-speaking parts of the world. The state of affairs was starting to become the status quo; you play heroics, and the women earn and manage the money.
Of course, the status quo of the world underwent several significant shifts in the last third of the year.
First, there was the 'Treaty of the Clock Tower' brokered in the first few days of September. The magi of the Clock Tower would peaceably leave London and their base for the army of the United Kingdom to take over the Clock Tower. The magi would go unmolested to the Kingdom of Nix, not attacking the army any further. The conflict had been growing too costly for both sides to continue willingly, with many men being lost of the army and the magi being unable to produce enough food.
Second, there was the September 11th incident, where four planes were highjacked, with the hijackers attempting to crash them into key installations of the United States. However, only two of them made it to their targets. One plane crashed into a US military complex and the other into a building of the World Trade Center. The third hijacking resulted in a duel between the highjacker and a pair of passenger magi, resulting in the plane exploding in mid-air, while the fourth hijacker was counter-hijacked by fifteen magi on his flight, killing the original hijacker and diverting the plane to Nix.
Third, the day after the US President declared that he would be commanding the US army to stop more terrorist incidents, targeting the cell that had attempted to weaken the US, Gilgamesh acted. Holding back, he used a Noble Phantasm to wipe out the cell, and the surrounding area, and declared that he was going to be rebuilding Uruk in the place. With an open invitation for those interested to move to New Uruk, it was almost unnoticed that Primate Murder limped away after being caught at the very edge of Gilgamesh's attack.
Fourth, with so many magi fleeing to their new kingdom, Nix claimed more territory from the United States throughout the last few months of the year, eventually claiming all the western coastal states of the United States as their territory. The Vegas Kingdom tried to keep hostilities down, but after the attack on the eastern US, the US military was boiling to take out their anger on someone.
Finally, in the midst of the TSAB trying to barter the purchase of land from Japan, Iskander walked up to the negotiating table and requested the immediate surrender of both Japan and the TSAB for his army. Both of the diplomats refused, before one of Iskander's aides started spilling secret after dirty secret about the TSAB.
Corruption, incompetence, child soldiers and workers, and well-meaning mistakes infested the TSAB's ranks.
When he wakes up, the TSAB (or what was left of it by the end of the year) will be happy to craft him an artificial arm for him to use, but until then, he's one arm short.
You could have done something. Something else, anything else. You could have sent him back to Uminari. Failing that, you could have stopped him from going out to fight the demon that was threatening Mitakihara.
But you didn't, and now your son had paid the cost.
Shirou wanted to be a hero, and went out and helped strike the deciding blow against the demon. For that, he was considered a hero by many of those in Mitakihara. He had used a weapon called Excalibur (surely he hadn't seen the original sword bearing the name well enough to trace it, right?) to strike the demon, exposing its core for the JSDF and Nanoha to finish off. But at a massive cost to himself.
Shirou's right eye was a bloody mess, the right side of his chest and his right arm were gone, and he was in a coma.
All the while with a happy smile on his face.
Nanoha, who had been the first to find Shirou after his attack, was distraught. It was only with timely medical aid, and young Kaname-san (who had chased after Shirou and Nanoha when they had disappeared) staunching the bleeding until paramedics could arrive, that Shirou still lives.
You managed to heal his eye, but you found out, to your dismay, that you couldn't heal what didn't exist. Avalon, given enough time, will eventually completely repair Shirou's chest and replace his missing arm, but it will take years, if not decades, for it to do so.
When he wakes up, the TSAB (or what was left of it by the end of the year) will be happy to craft him an artificial arm for him to use, but until then, he's one arm short.
You left Mitakihara after using your Soul Gem on the large black pillar, returning home to the rest of your family. Everyone was subdued, but life went on. Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillenia, the first in line to the head of the Yggdmillenia clan, often filled the presence of Shirou when she came over to help Illya with her Second Owner duties, dragging Hayate into the paperwork so that Illya didn't have to do as much. You never noticed it before, but Illya seemed to have held something against Hayate, something that your eldest has finally let go, with a new air of resignation of it being for the best.
Your other daughters, not bound down by the paperwork all the magi in Uminari were generating, started making friends with their classmates.
Between the time of their school starting and the summer break, Miyu befriended a girl going by the name of Yuki Nagato, the daughter of a pair of Mid-Childa immigrants who had decided to 'go native' before you had broken the masquerade. Together, the pair of them read a quarter of the picture books in the small library in their classroom, learning how to read quickly. The two of them might have finished the entire bookshelf, if it wasn't for the self-proclaimed 'future Dead Apostle Ancestor' Haruhi Suzumiya trying to recruit the pair of them for a little club she was trying to form. By the time autumn came around, Itsuki Koizumi Yggdmillenia (seventeenth in line for the head), Ryoko Asakura (the daughter of another pair of Mid-Childa immigrants), and a boy being called 'Kyon' (a local boy who had no connection to any Moonlit secrets) had been recruited to her little 'SOS Brigade', and managed to get their teacher to stop Haruhi from attempting to keep recruiting Miyu and Yuki.
That didn't stop Miyu from delving into bounded fields in her magecraft studies, in the hope that she'll find the one that Haruhi can't walk right through like tissue paper.
Kuro, being more open and active, compared to Miyu trying (and failing) to keep a low profile, was systematically excluded from many of her class activities by her classmates when her teacher didn't intervene. It wasn't until a boy calling himself Makoto Itou spoke up in her defense that she was accepted, abet grudgingly in most cases.
Of course, the world passed on around you. You managed to get the Grief Seeds from Tohsaka and perform some observations of events in Fuyuki, Irisviel's manga sold well (especially the one about Iskander), and Maiya managed to get the manga sold in English-speaking parts of the world. The state of affairs was starting to become the status quo; you play heroics, and the women earn and manage the money.
Between dodging a new Dead Apostle calling itself 'War' and bartering with Tohsaka, you managed to get a few glimpses yourself of the new Servant dancing (literally) in Fuyuki. Between your observations and Yggdmillenia's notes, you are reasonably sure that it is a new copy of your Servant in your first Grail War. To make matters more distressing, it is of a class you had never heard of before, 'Ruler', with two command seals on its arm. While you had held it back ages ago, whoever, or whatever, had summoned it this time was very compatible with it. Whatever will happen, signs are pointing to the fact that it is not going to be good.
Of course, the status quo of the world underwent several significant shifts in the last third of the year.
First, there was the 'Treaty of the Clock Tower' brokered in the first few days of September. The magi of the Clock Tower would peaceably leave London and their base for the army of the United Kingdom to take over the Clock Tower. The magi would go unmolested to the Kingdom of Nix, not attacking the army any further. The conflict had been growing too costly for both sides to continue willingly, with many men being lost of the army and the magi being unable to produce enough food.
Second, there was the September 11th incident, where four planes were highjacked, with the hijackers attempting to crash them into key installations of the United States. However, only two of them made it to their targets. One plane crashed into a US military complex and the other into a building of the World Trade Center. The third hijacking resulted in a duel between the highjacker and a pair of passenger magi, resulting in the plane exploding in mid-air, while the fourth hijacker was counter-hijacked by fifteen magi on his flight, killing the original hijacker and diverting the plane to Nix.
Third, the day after the US President declared that he would be commanding the US army to stop more terrorist incidents, targeting the cell that had attempted to weaken the US, Gilgamesh acted. Holding back, he used a Noble Phantasm to wipe out the cell, and the surrounding area, and declared that he was going to be rebuilding Uruk in the place. With an open invitation for those interested to move to New Uruk, it was almost unnoticed that Primate Murder limped away after being caught at the very edge of Gilgamesh's attack.
Fourth, with so many magi fleeing to their new kingdom, Nix claimed more territory from the United States throughout the last few months of the year, eventually claiming all the western coastal states of the United States as their territory. The Vegas Kingdom tried to keep hostilities down, but after the attack on the eastern US, the US military was boiling to take out their anger on someone. Eventually, the president declared a 'War on Thaumaturgy', pointing to magi as the primary cause for the state of the world.
With so much going on, it was almost unnoticed that Deadpool took up open residence in New York City. Although he had no inclination for leadership roles, his mere presence caused crime there to quickly plummet.
Finally, in the midst of the TSAB trying to barter the purchase of land from Japan, Iskander walked up to the negotiating table and requested the immediate surrender of both Japan and the TSAB for his army. Both of the diplomats refused, before one of Iskander's aides started spilling secret after dirty secret about the TSAB to the public.
Corruption, incompetence, and well-meaning mistakes infested the TSAB's ranks. The Jewel Seed incident which had introduced Earth to the TSAB was only the tip of the iceberg, with a former officer with a grudge sending only one boy with an Intelligent Device with capabilities that ran counter to the boy's, leaving the instigator to escape to torment them later. Most of the competent officers in the past had been pushed to try something on the Cross, reducing the competence of the TSAB further. The majority of those that weren't incompetent were corrupt in some way, like the Harlaown family promoting their son to high rank with less experience than other officers.
The straw that broke the camel's back was the Einzbern Fate Project. Originally designed by Precia Testarossa, the intent was to produce a clone with memories of the original (a fact that Fate, who had been created with the project, took with devastation). With homunculus magecraft notes taken from the rubble of the Einzbern family in Germany (before returning copies to the Emiya family), more powerful and shorter-lived clones were able to be produced, with their genetic structure able to be altered for certain traits. The result was a man called Jail Scaglietti, who was supposed to replace the scientists lost to the Cross and find a way to defeat it. Failing that, he was supposed to be the next 'lesser grail' for the next Grail War, which would be used to hopefully deal with the Cross once and for all.
Instead, he broke into one of the few remaining intact Mid-Childa holy grounds, stole the retrieved Shroud of the Saint King, and fled into space, with only a half-hearted (and failed) effort to recruit discrete help to deal with him. Now, who knows what the man is going to be up to.
The TSAB fractured, revealing that over half of its forces had already secretly changed allegiance from Mid-Childa to Iskander, with another quarter following suit once the dust settled. The last quarter were either killed in the confusion or quietly retired once given an escape (such as the Harlaowns).
Uminari fell under Iskander's control, with Mitakihara quickly following. The rest of Japan started to struggle to either join Iskander, or struggle against him honorably.
Just one more rapid change in today's world.
Now, if only you could get a peaceful year...
Total Costs this Year: 14 Resources, 1 Time
Total Results: +4 Resources (JSDF Propaganda Manga), +4 Resources (Iskander Propaganda Manga), +3 Resources (English Translations), +3 Time (Purchase from Tohsaka), +1 Time (Mitakihara Hunting), +1 Time (Grief Pillar Cleaning)
Shirou is in a coma and is hospitalized. (Costs are being covered by a grateful Mitakihara local government.)
Homura has fled the timeline in confusion.
Oriko has 'witched out'.
Kiritsugu: +1 Guns, +1 Magecraft, +1 Stealth
Irisivel: +2 Drawing
Maiya: +2 English Language
Shirou is best friends with Nanoha Takamachi (maxed?).
Shirou is loose friends with Madoka Kaname.
Shirou is acquaintances with Sayaka Miki.
Illyasviel is loose friends with Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillenia.
Hayate is loose friends with Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillenia.
Hayate Yagami and Illyasviel von Einzbern are acquaintances.
Kuro is loose friends with Makoto Itou.
Miyu is loose friends with Yuki Nagato.
Currencies: 4 Resources, 5 Time
Expected Upkeep: 8 Resources, 1 Time
Global News:
Treaty of the Clock Tower
Magi Kingdom of Nix Grows
USA Suffers 9/11 Attacks
-Declares War on Terror and Thaumaturgy
Gilgamesh Starts Rebuilding Uruk
-Kotomine Kirei Named Chief Spiritual Advisor
Iskander Starts World Conquest in Japan
TSAB Completely Abandons Mid-Childa to the Cross
Ice Caps Melting at Increased Rate
-Sea Levels Rising
Local News:
Shirou in Coma After Heroism
Exposed TSAB Scandals Cripple Force
Iskander Takes over Uminari and Mitakihara
-Non-Aligned TSAB Effectively Reduced to Local Police Force
Dead Apostle 'War' Created and Spotted in Fuyuki
-The Bloody Page Promises Three More
Servant 'Ruler' Spotted in Fuyuki
-Unknown Master
Kotomine Abandons Fuyuki
-Takes several large cases of Thaumaturgic luggage
The result was a man called Jail Scaglietti, who was supposed to replace the scientists lost to the Cross and find a way to defeat it. Failing that, he was supposed to be the next 'lesser grail' for the next Grail War, which would be used to hopefully deal with the Cross once and for all.
Seriously, he is the single most terrifying thing to be introduced so far. Though at least Kuro seems to have taken the role of someone who didn't die.
I actually want to see Itou Makoto become master of Medea in grail war thought.
Hmm,this is pretty good for state of the world after revealing of magic.
Also Harlaown family getting call out here,nepotism is not okay.
With simple action of broken masquerade,the world going into death spiral.
Our salvation maybe on Kyon thought,We should bring him and deadpool together to figure something out of this mess.
And... finished updating. It was mostly the news and the finishing of the results, and updating the household status on the front page.
I'm planning about one more update before votes resume (Illya's view); the other updates (Zouken, Jail, and Kyuubey) can be posted anytime during the coming (in-quest) year.
Please note that due to circumstances, I'll likely be posting the voting for one adult at a time.
And, again, thank you for sticking by me during the quest.
Interesting how Gilgamesh will deal with current state of the world,Despite his asshole personality,He still take his job of hero and slaying monster seriously.
Interesting how Gilgamesh will deal with current state of the world,Despite his asshole personality,He still take his job of hero and slaying monster seriously.
I think there are concept going on that " Beast prey upon human" but "Hero defeat the monster" since old time narrative.
Primate Murder fear the greatest of hero.
I imagine one scenario that evil of human can use to benefit human,Prisma Illya talk about the curse and destruction of Pandora box is depend on your point of view,What if we use all of our evil of human against the enemy of humanity?
Strike Primate Murder down with Avenger Angra Manyu?
I prefer to think it on Netero form Hunter X Hunter
Considering what we think we know about Primate Murder? I don't think that actually would have hurt the thing.
Though I suppose that this quest has really had much nasuverse accuracy in quite a while, so it's not a big surprise.
Some of the consequences here are seem a bit ridiculous. For example we've had discovery that we were forging documents for "illegal immigrants" rapidly lead to clock tower deciding to destroy a city without the chance to make any choices in between.
As well as corruption in TSAB discovered immediately lead to entirety almost the entirety of TSAB either being eliminated or defecting to Iskander and helping his attempted conquest of Japan, despite the fact that Japan had previously been helping them a lot by taking in large numbers of refugees.
