Chapter 411: Synchronized Timelines
"Eh, eh? You want me to fight Senpai? No, no! That's absolutely impossible!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise, waving both hands and stepping backward.
"Because that is a 'Shirou' who has gone astray; defeating him is necessary to save the world. Merlin waking me from Avalon already demonstrates the gravity of the situation. I have come to this world as the King tasked with saving it," Artoria said sternly.
"So, Artoria, your current mental state is closer to how you were when you were alive?" Shirou asked. The girl before him was not the Artoria who was a Heroic Spirit, but the King who had remained alive, entering the isolated utopia of Avalon, neither aging nor dying, having slept for a thousand years.
However, to him, this didn't seem to matter. Regardless of the choices the girl had made, Artoria was still Artoria. Even if she didn't have the relevant memories of their time together, Shirou would do everything in his power to care for her and treat her well.
Moreover, the bond between Shirou and Artoria was established in the final second before the girl—as the King—perished. To mend her regrets and restore England, she had struck a contract with the Counter Force, sacrificing her future to become a Guardian in exchange for a chance to obtain the Holy Grail.
Thus, when she participated in the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, although she appeared like other Servants fueled by the mana of the Greater Grail, her body was different from the temporary vessels others received to act in the future. Even if her body only maintained a trace of mana and couldn't fight, she could remain in the physical realm of the world she was summoned to, though, conversely, she lacked the ability to become a spirit.
Because she was not yet a Heroic Spirit at that time, but a legendary hero participating in the Holy Grail War through the intervention of the Counter Force. Still, as a representative of the knightly creed, the noble King of Knights, her method of combat was always upright, one-on-one dueling; so, aside from the mana consumption issue, it didn't have much of an impact.
In many heroic epics, there are indeed tales of heroes who achieved great feats, surpassed human boundaries, and became immortal:
Emperors who achieved immortality and became Celestials; Various ascetics in ancient India; Greek mythology, which records in many versions that the great hero Heracles, after being burned to death, was brought to the temple by Zeus and became a deity; In Arthurian legend, there are multiple versions where Knights of the Round Table obtain the Holy Grail—Galahad, in particular, renounced all desires, seeking only to serve at the Lord's side, and his piety moved God so that he was taken to Heaven; Lucky individuals who encountered miraculous fortunes or consumed elixirs of life;
Others like Chang'e, who stole the elixir and fled to the moon; Peng Zu, a Taoist pioneer of the Qin Dynasty who lived for 800 years; or the 800-year-old Buddhist nun (Yaobikuni) of Wa who ate mermaid meat and became immortal.
In legend, King Arthur himself possessed the traits of immortality and the ability to instantly heal any wound. However, to promote the spirit of chivalry, the knights within these tales were molded into beings who embodied virtues like justice and fairness; thus, if they committed errors or broke oaths, they were inevitably forced to pay the price.
So-called heroes must also constantly face difficulties that ordinary people cannot overcome; the Sword in the Stone broke in an unjust duel, and the scabbard of the sword from the lake was lost during frequent wars.
But the Artoria here had ultimately returned to the world of Avalon to sleep, no longer subject to any interference.
"That's right, Shirou! Now, I have fused the advantages of all Artorias: the purity of Lily, the ferocity of Black Saber, the holiness of the Lion King, Blue Saber's refined taste for gourmet food, the bust of the Black Lion King, and the justice of the chivalry I represent! In other words! The current me! I am the most correct and perfect Artoria!" The girl said spiritedly, hands on her hips.
"I see." Shirou nodded with a smile, though he felt differently inside. Although the girl said that, looking at her overly energetic state, could it be that she had been strangely influenced by the other Servant incarnations? While his initial impression was of a dignified girl, she had also been quite cute when eating.
"I spared no effort to collect all my power, trekking long distances, traversing through various worlds—going to grasslands, deserts, mountains, alien planets, beaches... after experiencing thousands of trials and tribulations... I finally earned recognition and arrived here."
As Artoria spoke, she seemed to recall certain unbearable pasts. She wore an expression full of bitterness and grievances, leaning her hands on Shirou's shoulders and lowering her head in depression.
'The me who grew up had a fierce look, lifted such a huge spear, and stabbed it over—is having a big chest so great?!' 'The darkened one, though, was very easy to talk to.' 'Then there was a kid wearing a scarf; we didn't even speak before she drew her sword and chased me, shouting: 'The strongest Saber is me! The Artoria species must go extinct; one of me is enough!'' 'Then another kid with glasses popped out, helped me subdue the one with the scarf, and afterward, to convince them, I had to treat them to desserts and red bean pancakes...' 'As for those playing at the beach, it's simply unbelievable. I was busy running around saving the world, and they... they were actually playing? That person holding a water gun, and the one carrying a mop... to persuade them, I had to treat them again... even with the treasury provided by Camelot, I'm barely holding up...' 'My wallet... my wallet... the Artoria species, what a terrifying civilization...' Artoria wore a look of despair, as if the world were about to end...
"Ahaha..." Shirou laughed dryly, comforting the golden-haired girl by patting her head. Although he hadn't experienced this "most correct and perfect" version, the girl before him was certainly very real.
He felt as though the other Artorias she mentioned were somehow familiar. If a pile of Artorias appeared before him, while he would welcome it, it would probably be very difficult to please them all. After all, the normal Artoria had a very picky palate for food; if he wasn't careful, she would notice. And as for the Alter-ized versions, no matter which one, their food preferences were extreme. Added to that was an appetite that seemed to exceed their combat power; if they truly ate to their heart's content, a normal person certainly couldn't afford it.
Artoria squinted, letting the boy pat her head, her ahoge (hair antenna) wagging happily. After a while, she took a step back, looked up at Shirou, and said earnestly: "Anyway... you understand now, right? I am probably the most capable of understanding your situation. Artoria doesn't need so many categories at all; having just one of me is enough! So I will absolutely help you defeat that 'bad' Shirou!"
"Hey, hey... your character attributes are already overlapping with a certain 'most mysterious' person, but thank you anyway, Artoria." Shirou smiled gratefully, looking at the girl.
At this moment, Artoria was wearing the magnificent silver armor of the Lion King, a white battle skirt, and a crown upon her beautiful golden hair; she was as beautiful as an elf out of a fairy tale. On her waist, she carried a black and a white sword, followed by a silver-maned stallion, her azure eyes deep and resolute, like a Valkyrie.
However, for some reason, Shirou felt she was a bit too lively, lacking a certain sense of stability. But hearing her say she understood him made him feel warm inside; perhaps those previous thoughts were just his imagination.
"Wait, Senpai, Saber-san, but... what will happen after you defeat the white Senpai?" Sakura asked worriedly.
Artoria looked serious and swore, "We will probably merge together, with the Shirou on our side as the main body... probably!"
"What a waste..." Sakura blurted out, her true thoughts escaping before she could think.
"Eh?!" Shirou looked at the purple-haired girl in surprise; she felt somewhat like a stranger. Sure enough, after living another life, Sakura had undergone changes.
Artoria tapped her fingers, pondered for a moment, and seemed to agree heartily: "That's true. I can understand your feelings, Sakura. As for Artoria, having just one of me is enough, but as for Shirou—for housework, cooking, chores, dining companions, playing, and... it feels like no matter how many there are, it wouldn't be a loss."
"Eh...?" Shirou looked at the two girls in astonishment, almost doubting them. He thought to himself, 'Whose side are you two on?'
"No, no! That's not it, Senpai! Don't look at me with those eyes; that's not what I meant. I only need you alone by my side! Ah! What am I saying?" The purple-haired girl's face flushed, and she waved her hands frantically to deny it.
"Well then, it's decided. Now we just need to contact Rin, and we can set off!" Artoria said, clapping her hands.
"But, as for Tohsaka, she understands the situation, but we don't know her thoughts," Shirou said.
"As for big sister, there's no need to worry. In the previous life, she often said that if she saw Senpai once, she would kick him once," Sakura said, touching her red ribbon with her index finger as she recalled the past, wearing a nostalgic smile.
"Truly worthy of Rin; as reliable as ever," Artoria said, clenching her fist excitedly.
"Ahaha..." Shirou laughed dryly. 'Is this something to be happy about? Also... Sakura, could you please not say such terrifying things with a smile?'
"But, Saber-san, how are we going to contact big sister?" Sakura asked.
"In fact, I already met Rin in London once before coming here to find Shirou," Artoria explained. She then lifted her armor and reached inside to fumble for something. "So, leave this to me!"
Artoria flipped through the hidden pockets inside, raised her hand high, mimicked a certain cat-type robot, and shouted, "From extraterrestrial technology—the Parallel World Communicator!!!"
The golden-haired girl pulled out an old-fashioned red rotary phone. Having fused with multiple incarnations, Artoria, like Shirou, had evolved into a multi-talented individual. She tilted her neck, tucked the receiver between her ear and shoulder, and dialed the number in a professional manner.
A moment later, Rin's voice came from the phone unit. It turned out the unit had a speaker, so Artoria simply put down the receiver.
'So... why was the receiver necessary in the first place?'
"Hey, hey... is it connected? Is this how you press this smart phone?"
"Hey, hey, it's me, it's me," Artoria quickly interjected.
"'Me'? Who is 'me'?!" Rin Tohsaka complained.
"Sister!" Sakura touched the red ribbon on her head, unable to help but cry out. To her, there were only two most important people in the world: one was Shirou, the Senpai who brought her redemption and the warmth of a family; the other was Rin Tohsaka, whom she had regarded as her hero since she was a child.
"Eh? Sakura! It's Sakura, right! That Artoria finally found you! Are you okay in that world? Did you run into any danger?" Rin Tohsaka said in surprise.
"Yes, Sister, my life here is very good. The danger has already been resolved, and Emiya Senpai is here too," Sakura said with a soft smile.
"That guy is there too?! You're slow! I've been waiting for over three years!" Rin scolded.
"Tohsaka, what is going on? I just left your side; explain, will you?" Shirou asked, confused.
"Tsk, so that's it. After that, I also went to your world for a bit, but the 'you' I encountered didn't have these memories. However, the timelines have now completely synchronized," Rin said.
"Timelines?" Shirou asked.
Rin said angrily, "Yes! It's truly a mess. Many worlds have been synchronized together because of that god; all parallel worlds are closer than ever before, to the point where you can easily cross over even without the Second Magic. Any problem in one world will ripple into the surrounding ones. If one world falls, it will lead to a domino effect, causing big problems for all of them.
"That ring of light in the sky is far too dangerous. Mages at the Clock Tower have already realized the world's changes and are planning to use them to conduct strange experiments on other worlds. If I hadn't stopped them in time, it could have been a disaster! It's infuriating! Now that he's become a god, he's still acting so recklessly! What on earth is he trying to do? Shirou! You idiot!"
"Wait, Tohsaka, why are you venting your anger on me?" Shirou said, feeling annoyed.
Rin Tohsaka shouted righteously: "Because I feel like it, is that a problem? I'm not just going to scold you, I want to beat you up too! Besides, to outsiders, that guy is you!"
"Listen up! I'm finding a way to fly into that ring of light, so you lot wait for me. When I enter, you go in at the same time. We are currently at different coordinates, but theoretically, as long as we enter that ring of light simultaneously, the worlds we are in will converge together," Rin Tohsaka said.
"Understood. We'll stand by there until you arrive, Rin. Once you do, the three of us will enter hand-in-hand. That should work, right?" Artoria said.
"Yes... yes, but for some reason, your phrasing makes me so angry!" Rin Tohsaka shouted from the other end of the line.
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