Chereads / An Eternal Wait / Chapter 2 - The Game

Chapter 2 - The Game

An eternal grassland basks under the warmth and glow of the gentle sun. Blades of grass covering the land as far as the eye can see, sway slowly under the guidance of a slight breeze. Beyond the horizon lies a large stone tower, its true size masked by the visible limitations of distance. In the center of the grassy plains stands a large oak tree, with only a few rays of sunlight piercing through the thick canopy and onto its shadow. There, underneath the tree, is a youthful looking blond girl of otherworldly beauty, dressed in a white sundress and peacefully slumbering in the shade of the tree, despite breathing air dense with enough magical energy to instantly kill any human. This mystical land is the land of Avalon, the Everdistant Utopia, and this young girl is Arturia Pendragon, the King of Knights. 

Although the sight of the resting king is picturesque of peace, that image is marred by the contortion of Arturia's beautiful face into a frown, in reaction to the approaching sound of crinkling grass. 

"Merlin." Arturia states calmly. "If you dare disturb my peace to bother me with your petulant antics, your imprisonment in that tower of yours will look like a mercy compared to what I'll do to you."

Silence persists for a short while, and thinking she succeeded in her threat, Arturia's peaceful face returns and she starts to fall back asleep. Only for that brief peace to transform quickly into surprise, when she hears a mechanical flash and feels a bright light against her closed eyelids. Eyelids startled open, emerald green eyes adjust to the sight of a figure robed in black and face hooded and covered, holding an iPhone in a gloved hand. She instinctually leaps to her feet, face guarded, and in a defensive stance. Although she couldn't sense any danger from the figure, their mere presence alone in Avalon was concerning enough. In response to the suddenly aggressive behavior of Arturia, the figure quickly raises their hands in surrender and jumps back a few paces. 

"Woah there, Arturia Pendragon." The words of a masculine and deep, rumbling voice echo from the figure. "Apologies startling you awake from your rest, but I had to capture the image of the beautiful masterpiece in front of me. It would be an act against all artistic truth to not do so."

"Who are you? How are you here? Why are you here? How do you know my name?" The still-guarded King of Knights responds rapidly with questions, although now sporting a small blush in reaction to the words complimenting her compromised position.

"Please rest easy, King of Knights." The figure says chuckling. "I mean you no harm. Besides, without a weapon, that stance of yours is pointless."

The figure with arms still raised in surrender, uses his empty hand to point, directing her attention to her own hands, lacking the familiar weight of her treasured sword. Realizing her mistake, she blushes harder and releases her stance, albeit her posture still tense and ready for confrontation.

"Answer my questions." She demands, glaring eyes contrast to her crimson face.

"All in due time, dear Arturia." The man, assumingly, responds to her jovially. "But to answer one of your questions, who would not be able to guess the identity of the radiant beauty residing in Avalon."

Although fully covered head to toe in black, her Instinct screamed in the back of her mind that the mysterious man winked at her, snapping any remaining patience she had.

"Enough!" She yells, embarrassed demeanor gone and replaced with the commanding presence of the King of Knights. "State you purpose here, or begone."

"Apologies, King of Knights." He says placidly, quickly glancing down at the now present golden watch on his left wrist. "My excitement has gotten the better of me, and I valuable time with excessive pleasantries."

Arturia's expression remains unchanged, radiating an aura that demands appropriate answers to her questions. 

"You truly are a King, Arturia Pendragon." The man says, chuckling lightly and shaking his head. "Okay. I can't explain everything to the detail that you or I would like, since we are running out of time."

As he finishes those final words, the grassland rumbles violently, making Arturia stumble and the man unfazed as if used to it.

"As I was saying, we are running out of time." He continues, tone more pressed. "I can answer all your questions if you come with me."

The rumbling occurs again in greater intensity.

"Why should I go with you? Or rather, why should I even trust you?" Arturia questions, concerned with the shaking, but even more concerned about the suspicious man. "It's quite likely you have some connection to these tremors, given the timing of their appearance with you. If these tremors can affect even Avalon, who's to say what threat you pose?"

The ground shakes to such a greater degree that small cracks are now starting to form in the plains.

"I swear to you on my honor and my life that no harm will come to you by my hand or by anything else while under my care." He says, even more hurried than before. "Though I know that my word is not enough and I don't have the time to spare to guarantee anything else. If that's the case..."

He is cut of by the cracks in the earth widening and even the sky starting to fracture. Seeing this the man's presence changes entirely. His aura explodes out of him, dense and overpowering. Arturia's pupils dilate and a cold sweat runs down her back as she realizes exactly what kind of being she's dealing with.

"If you can't trust anything I say, at least trust and know this." He says, any remaining playfulness completely gone. "If you ever hope to see Shirou Emiya again, you will follow."

Those emotionless words freeze her deathly still.

'Shirou? Why did he mention Shirou? Is Shirou safe? Did he do something to Shirou?' Her mind works a mile a minute, anxiety rising and quickly bursting out.

"What have you done to Shi-" She starts to say worriedly, before being cut off as his entire existence weighs down on her. It felt like even though she could not see his eyes, his eyes were staring down deep into her soul. The fractured sky cracks open, raining shards of reality.

"We don't have time." He says quickly. "Heed my words, and make your decision. Now."

He reaches out his hand to her, as inside the open rift in the sky, a colossal, kaleidoscopic eye glares down into the rumbling land. The shadowy tendrils of hands erupt from the fracture, descending into the land below, aiming towards them. Arturia, frozen still from the racing thoughts in her head, makes a decision not by deliberation, but by Instinct.

Grabbing the man's hand, the pair vanish from the plains of Avalon, like if they weren't present in the first place. The rumbling subsides and the cracks in the earth start to mend. The shadow hands retract through the fissure in the sky, as the eye disappears and the maw in the sky shuts close. Just like that, the apocalyptic scene returns to the the peaceful visage of the Everdistant Utopia. 

-----

Arturia opens her eyes to a vast expanse; a black canvas splotched with sprinkles of white dots. Space. She's in space, or that's what she would like to think, if not for the fact the swirling galaxy beneath her is solid ground, of which the cushion she's sitting on is resting. Before her is a mahogany table with two steaming cups of tea, one for her and one for the man that brought her here, the man who, as if waiting for her to process everything, is sitting patiently and taking the occasional sip of tea. 

"What was that?" She says, after a long stretch of silence. He sighs, placing his cup of tea down and seemingly ready's himself for the conversation ahead.

"That," He says. "Was The Librarian."

"The Librarian?" Arturia asks confused.

"Yes, The Librarian." He confirms, before continuing. "Before I get to answering that though, it is prudent that I explain everything first. Once I do, everything shall fall into place. So before I continue, please do not interrupt me because it is a long explanation. If anything is left out, I will answer it at the end."

She nods, straightening her posture to focus on the words of the man before her.

"Good, let's begin." He says. "First off, I guess I should tell you my name. My name is God. Not the Biblical God mind you, but a different god named God. If it is easier, you can also call me Zero. I am what you could classify as a 'Foreigner.' Not like those Lovecraftian entities sitting at the edges of the universe and between dimensions, but a being that doesn't even belong to this multiverse period. I cannot explain further than that, but know that I do not seek to cause problems with this universe and that I do not seek you any harm. Now, the reason I called you here is because of a certain miracle. You've probably heard of it. 'In order for a miracle to occur, he must search for her endlessly, while she must wait for him eternally.' That sound familiar?"

She nods, holding down any burning questions she has so he can continue.

"I'm sure you remember it quite well." He continues. "It's the only way for you to reunite with your beloved Shirou after all. Even though Merlin is quite the unreliable character, he is not known as the Mage of Flowers without reason. That, and he does care about you as one would a mentor and his student. At the very least, you can trust his words that such a miracle is required for you star-crossed lovers to meet again. Yes, a miracle is certainly required and both of you seemed quite ready to make the gamble to 'wait eternally' and 'pursue endlessly.'"

She nods again, unsure of where he is going with this, but can't help but feel a sudden pit of dread form in her stomach.

"You're making a mistake trying to gamble with something like eternity." He sighs, shaking his head. "You have no idea what the future has untold. You don't know what obstacles may appear on your path and oppose you. You already are trying to gamble on something near impossible, do not try to support said gamble with something uncertain as eternity. Merlin is right, a miracle is needed. I figure that he thought if both conditions are complete, the love may be transcendent enough to build a bridge that connects you to into Avalon. If both of you stuck to that path uninfluenced and unwavering, I would say that you likely could pull it off. However, the consequences and chance of failure are so astronomically high, that adding all the nigh infinite ways things can go wrong during an eternity, make this impossible to achieve and not the best path to achieve it. It was foolish of you all to even consider this as a possibility."

Arturia looks at Zero now with slight frustration, as if asking what else were they even supposed to do. 

"I may be harsh Arturia." Zero says strictly. "But of the possible ways to achieve your goal, this was the worst way to go about it. One wrong move and suddenly all chances you have go up in smoke, never being able to see each other again. You know of Shirou's alternate versions. You know of his fate at the hands of Alaya. Do you think your Shirou is free from that, whether he wants to or not?"

Arturia looks horrified at the possibility.

"You aren't free from that either, Arturia." Zero continues. "You may have ended your contract with Alaya when you regained Avalon, but do you really think that the World would let go of its last defense force against outside threats?"

Arturia's face hardens, but her eyes are resigned, the only emotion present on her stone cold features.

"I don't blame you Arturia." Zero says consolingly. "This definitely was the most conventional, but it leaves you open to risks that are out of your control. That's why I'm going to help you."

Arturia's stone cold demeanor softens, and her eyes hold surprise and a little bit of hope.

"Don't look surprised Arturia." He says jokingly. "Did you really think I'd bring you here just to throw all your mistakes and failures in your face and mock your situation?"

She looks at him with a raised eyebrow, and he laughs.

"I guess our meeting wasn't exactly the best." He says, chuckling. "But do understand this dear Arturia. If there is anyone who wants you two to succeed besides the two of you, it is me."

Zero holds a thumbs up, and although Arturia can't see it, she feels like he's smiling at her, and she can't help but feel a little reassured. 

"That said," He continues. "While I would like to explain everything in more detail, I only earned us a few hours before the Librarian comes back again. I'll explain the larger goal, but I'll need to give you the information needed to fill in the blanks. Please give me your hand."

Arturia sticks her hand out and Zero gently grasps it. Arturia jolts a little feeling a rush of information into her brain, but it doesn't hurt at all. Zero releases her hand and she shakes her head a little, the large amounts of information taking time to settle in her brain. When it does, she realizes it's all about...games?

"Before you say anything, this information is necessary to go forward." He says, raising his hand to stop her. "To put it simply, while the method to go about it is wrong, a miracle is still needed for you and Shirou to reunite once again. Thus, we need to go about it a different way. You might wonder if I could easily reunite you with Shirou, given my apparent power. Yes I could, but I shall not for multiple reasons. Firstly, even if I did reunite you two, you both are still under the governance of Alaya and its whims. I cannot protect you forever as even my own time here is limited. That Librarian I mentioned earlier? That's the Guardian of Akasha. It does not like intruders on Akasha, and I am very much an intruder. It will hunt me down as long as I'm here and I can't beat it without shooting for the kill, which could potentially leave the Root without a guardian, and that is bad for many reasons. Secondly, If I whisked you both away beyond reach, I would be breaking a lot of rules, and you both would suffer the consequences by proxy. I can't break any more rules than I already am. Finally, even if I could, I would not want to. What kind of tale of love would it be if you both did not struggle? Just because I favor you both and do not want you to be doomed does not mean that I am your mother. You must earn your Happy Ending, Arturia Pendragon.

Arturia freezes at his tone, remembering the dominating presence she felt in Avalon. She realizes that despite the generally laid-back and relaxed attitude of Zero before her, he is still a being with unimaginable power and a existence beyond the comprehension of man. She got excited at the possibility of seeing Shirou again and became careless. She can't make that mistake again with everything on the line. She stares back at Zero with the eyes of the King of Knights.

Seeing her resolve, Zero couldn't help but smile under his cloak.

"I see you understand your position." He says, still serious. "Good. That means we can move forward. As I was saying, we need to approach gaining the miracle a different way. That's where the game and the information I gave you comes in."

He brings up a glowing blue panel in front of her. 

----------

STATUS: 

True Name: Arturia Pendragon

Class: Saber

Master: N/A (Acting as under Ritsuka Fujimaru)

Fame: ?

PARAMETERS:

Strength: B

Endurance: B

Agility: B

Mana: A

Luck: A+

NP: A++

CLASS SKILLS:

Magic Resistance: A

Riding: B

PERSONAL SKILLS:

Charisma: B

Instinct: A

Mana Burst: A

NOBLE PHANTASMS:

Invisible Air: C

Excalibur: A++

------------

"This is your status." Zero continues. "It reflects the typical profile that you would normally see when you are under the Saber class with an average master like the Last Master of Humanity. This status/overall system will be how you shall achieve your goal, largely in part due to the slight tweak in that 'Fame' section at the top."

Arturia nods her head, looking at the status and acknowledges the accuracy of it. Still perplexed on how this will help her, she continues to listen.

"We are going about it this way because here are many variables we need to consider." He states. "First, the Alaya/Gaia problem. Alaya and Gaia will hound you regardless of if you are in a contract with them or not. As such, we need to bring you to a place that either they can't reach you or they do not exist. At the same time, I cannot take you outside the multiverse for aforementioned rules and it would make reuniting much more difficult. Thus, I will bring you to a unique timeline that is unrecognized by Proper Human History. It is a variation of the timeline classified as 'Notes.' 'Notes.' is a world where almost all of Humanity has perished, the planet died, and the Ultimate Ones are attacking those that are left. This timeline in particular is a version where the Ultimate Ones and the remaining life on Earth defeated each other, leaving the planet completely inhospitable and with nothing left. For some reason however, beings from a different multiverse known as DxD arrived through a dimensional crack on the broken earth and recreated it, essentially creating a world where humanity is still the prime species and all supernatural beings live among them. For the most part, this timeline and its events played out similarly to Proper Human History, but with a few key differences. You'll get more details when you get there, but the key thing to know is that it's free from Gaia's and Alaya's control and is also still within the multiverse. It also has an additional bonus that I will get into next."

He continues.

"The second problem is your vessel. While you are technically not dead due to your circumstances, you do not classify as alive either. You are a Heroic Spirit with a physical body, but that's reliant on the fact that you reside in Avalon. As such, you need a proper vessel. Bringing you as a Servant does not help with the goal, in addition to restricting your capabilities under a class. As such, I will grant you a physical body untethered to Avalon possessing all capabilities and power that you possess as a Heroic Spirit and as when you were alive. You will have all the Noble Phantasms you possessed when you were alive at your disposal, in addition to other new Class Skills and Personal Skills. Given the nature of the world you are in, it is likely that your presence might grant additional changes that I am unaware of, but it will likely not be harmful. Hopefully."

Arturia glares at Zero like she would at Merlin, when he teases her, but he just shrugs it off.

"The final problem, and your goal, is how to achieve the miracle. This is where the system comes in and the fame component comes in as well. Although I have not mentioned it yet, Shirou is also currently meeting with me and listening to my plan, which to how that is happening, you don't need to know. He will have his own goal to accomplish with his own system, but at the core the game remains the same. He will search and you will wait. Unlike previously however, you are in a place more easily accessible in comparison to Avalon and you won't be sitting idly. That's where the 'Fame' component comes in. You will try to gather as much influence and presence in that world as possible, raising the weight of your own existence. As a Heroic Spirit, the more fame you obtain the larger the impact of your legend. The greater the weight your legend has, the more of a concrete anchor you act as for Shirou to find. Unfortunately due to the unique circumstances of that world, you can't just go around and haphazardly raise your fame. One condition is one you are familiar with, that the supernatural world cannot be revealed to humanity, so you cannot just reveal yourself straight away. Another condition is similar to that of Quantum Time-Locks, where certain events known as 'Canon' must play out and happen, and as such you cannot interfere majorly. You can't know what events are deemed as 'Canon,' however, I've implemented a variation of a 'Quest' system that will notify you when certain things occur."

Zero turns towards her, and takes her hand dropping something inside it. As she looks at the object in her hand, she sees it is a wedding band. The wedding band is a ring colored a glimmering and splendid gold and sapphire blue, with hints of dawn-like amber sprinkled in-between. As she holds it, she feels a warmth and love she hadn't felt in a long time, a love belonging to her one and only sheathe. She grasps the ring tight and holds it closer to her chest, tears of joy in her eyes as she tries to project her own love back through it in return. She looks at Zero in utter confusion, wondering why he gave her something like this.

"In essence, your goal here Arturia Pendragon, is to live a new life in an unknown world waiting as Shirou finds his way to you." He declares grandly. "You shall travel to an unknown world, living and raising your fame, while hopefully being able to live the life of the girl you never got the chance to have. That is the offer I make to you."

He continues with a more gentle tone.

"However, while I can guarantee better chances with this endeavor, its effectiveness is largely up to you. I will set you and Shirou up as best as I can, but your safety and your success is reliant on your actions you take going forward. There are a lot of unknowns down this path that do not guarantee an easy road free from hardship and challenge. If my offer is too risky, you both can continue down your original path. I will erase your memories of this encounter and return you both back to your original spots, and will never interfere again. You and Shirou must consider your options carefully in deciding what you both want to do. That is, in part, why I gave you both the rings. The wedding rings are items that act similarly to the system, serving as an additional connection that can help in reuniting you two. I cannot let you two meet to discuss, but the wedding rings act as a connection between you two, a vow of your love so to speak. You may not be able to see each other or hear each others words, but you can feel each other. Use the rings to decide how you want to move forward, I will give you time to decide."

With that, there is silence, as Zero just quietly sips his tea, leaving Arturia to stew in her thoughts. 

Arturia sits there for a time, grasping on to the ring and projecting her own feelings to Shirou while feeling Shirou's emotions towards her. As Zero finishes his cup of tea, Arturia looks up to Zero and places the ring on her finger, eyes filled with passion and strength reminiscent of the girl who pulled the sword from the stone in order to save her people.

"We'll do it." She says resolutely, hand extending out to Zero.

Zero looks at the hand and grasps it, the two shaking their hands in agreement.

"Alright!" He says joyfully. "We have a deal. Prepare yourself newlyweds, as I'm going to initiate the process. I wish you both the best of luck and I hope you enjoy my surprise!"

A large and complex magic circle appears beneath Arturia and her body starts to dissipate into particles.

"Thank you Zer-" She begins to say before shock strikes her features. "Wait! What do you mean newlyweds? What do you mean surpr-?"

Arturia is cut off as a blinding light fills the room. The last thing she sees are the gentle red eyes and cheeky smile of the unmasked Zero waving her off onto her new adventure.

----------

Arturia jolts up awake inside a large, king sized canopy bed lined with silky satin purple sheets. Looking around, she's in a grand and spacey room, with pristine marble floors and a ceiling decorated with art similarly to the Sistine Chapel. The room was filled with expensive and fancy bits and baubles, not unlike that of her bed chambers when she was King in Camelot. 

Rising from bed, she stumbles, slightly off balance. That is the immediate trigger for her that something is off. Her body was trained to always have grace and poise in her step, while simultaneously being combat ready at any point. Unless displaced in combat, she would never lose balance for any reason, meaning that something was off about her body. That's when she noticed it.

Her line of sight is much higher than before and her golden hair that usually drapes down to her shoulders, now extends to her mid back. The biggest change however, was the shift of her center of balance slightly forward, likely due to the two large mounds extending from her chest displacing the front of her white and silk nightgown around them. 

Coming to a realization, but needing visual confirmation to fully process her situation, she walks over to a body-length, gold-ordained, mirror in the corner of the room to look at herself. In place of the petite and youthful figure of a young girl, is the voluptuous and curvy figure of a mature woman. She looks to be now 180cm (5'10" in FREEDOM) with long legs, wide hips, and a lithe torso sporting large breasts. Her entire figure is toned and muscular, but not overtly so. Her face lost its youthful and cute appearance, and now possesses a mature allure. (AN: See Arturia Ruler)

"That bastard." Arturia curses, her voice slightly deeper and more silky, another result of the "surprise" that she realized was due to Zero.

Staring at the mirror, still unused to her new appearance, she notices in the corner of her eye, a note resting on her bed-side table. Walking over to it, she sees that it's a letter from Zero.

-----

Dear Arturia,

I hope you are enjoying the surprise I gave you in the form of your new body. While it may take some time getting used to, this actually is what you would look like if you were able to age past when you pulled Caliburn from the stone. You may have some gripes with me, but think on the bright side! I don't think Shirou will mind the changes ;). 

Besides that, let me tell you about your situation. You are an 18-year old (same birthday) transfer student entering her senior year at Kuoh Academy in Kuoh Town, Japan. You were born to a very far off branch of the Pendragon family (yes, you do have descendants in this world), that was so far removed from the main branch that they don't even exist on the main family registrar. Without connections to the main branch, your family worked their way to obtain great wealth and status equivalent to that of nobility, founding the conglomerate known as Avalon Industries, a multi-faceted company that reaches all across the world. With the recent death of your parents, you decided to move across the world to a more peaceful location so that you can finish your schooling and then return as acting CEO (you do not have to worry about the company and its logistics, it's all being handled by servants created by me and subservient to you). 

For more details, you will receive an influx of memories and information once you finish this letter that should help you gain your bearings. Besides that, make sure to check your status to see what has changed, because who's to say how your appearance in this world affected you.

With that out of the way, I will once again wish you the best of luck. I hope that you take this second life as a chance to enjoy your life beyond as a means to an end. I can't say what the future has in store for you or Shirou, but I know that you will succeed and be together again. 

Godspeed...Arturia Emiya.

Sincerely,

Zero

-------------

As she finished reading the letter, a rush of information came to the forefront of her brain.

That's right, she's Arturia Pendragon, born to the recently deceased Lance and Gwen Pendragon and heir to Avalon Industries, one of the biggest and richest companies in the world. She came to the quiet town of Kuoh in hopes to finish her education, as well as grieve the death of her parents and enjoy her remaining childhood in peace, free from any hounding by the media or stock holders. To achieve this, she purchased a reasonably small house--by her standards--in Kuoh, hiding behind the fabricated backstory that she is a rich British girl desiring to explore and learn about the culture that her missing husband--in everything but legalized form--is from as well as adopting the surname of said fiancée.

Arturia Pendragon, now Arturia Emiya, can't help but curse that joking bastard Zero in her head, absolutely frustrated and embarrassed at the situation he put her in. Her frustration is soothed by the warm feeling emitting from the ring on her left had, Shirou's reassuring feelings calming her down. She gently rubs the ring portraying her thanks and love towards Shirou.

Zero might be a prankster and she might curse his name, but she would always be grateful for everything he's done, especially giving her a way to feel connected to Shirou despite the distance between them. She will gratefully appreciate the opportunity given to her and live her new life to fullest, while helping her wayward love reach her. She clenches her fist and her eyes are filled with determination, ready to start her new journey.

An alarm suddenly rings from the smartphone plugged in on the bedside table. The time reads 08:30, reminding her that the alarm was to give a 30 minute warning before she had her first day of school. 

Realizing that she can't dawdle if she wants to have a sufficient start to the day and also not be late, she starts getting ready to leave. As she starts assembling and adorning the Kuoh uniform--of which she found incredibly risqué, but did not care enough to complain--she remembered Zero's words and decided to open up her status.

She dropped the clothes in her hand in shock.

"ZEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" If anyone was around the Emiya Mansion in the early morning, they would have experienced the sight of windows, buildings and the ground slightly trembling in response to the piercing shriek of anger from one Arturia Emiya towards an unknown individual.

----------

STATUS

True Name: Arturia Pendragon

Alias: Arturia Emiya

Title: King of Knights, Ultimate One of Humanity, Heavenly Dragon of Salvation, Gold Dragon Emperor

Class: Ultimate One, True Hero, Heavenly Dragon

Race: Alive Heroic Spirit/Heavenly Dragon/Ultimate One

Fame: 0 (? When true identity is revealed.)

PARAMETERS:

Strength: ? {A++} (B)

Endurance: ? {EX}[A+] (B)

Agility: ? {A++} (B) 

Mana: ? {EX} (A)

Luck: ? (A+)

NP: EX (A++)

CLASS/RACE SKILLS:

Ultimate One {Humanity} (EX): The Ultimate One skill is granted to a life form that's stands at the peak of it's own planet. An ultimate being that represents a planet. Due to being one of the strongest beings and the only remaining entity from a lost time and the peak of the current prime species, Arturia Pendragon is granted a version of this skill as the Ultimate One of Humanity.

With this skill Arturia Pendragon is the equivalent to Alaya/Gaia, as she is connected to all humans on earth. Humans connected to her receive passive protection against the supernatural, being able to unconsciously avoid all potential interactions with the supernatural. If somehow in danger as a result of the supernatural, all humans receive a buff in power equivalent to the danger to either escape or defeat the danger, as well as awaking any latent potential they have. Besides the presence of the supernatural or not, Humanity's latent potential as ones to reach the stars is awakened. Over time, as long as Arturia's presence exists on the planet, humans become stronger, faster, and smarter, with each generation better than the last. In the presence of Arturia, all humans naturally feel a sense of subservience and reverence towards her, akin to being in the presence of a Mother Goddess. All humans with a certain radius of Arturia become under her blessing, allowing her to boost their parameters, increase morale, and provide protection via healing and defense.

As for Arturia herself, while she doesn't gain an increase in parameters as an Ultimate One, as long as there is a single human left on Earth, she cannot die, similar to that of Tiamat's Paradox Restoration. When faced against enemies classified as a "Threat to Humanity," she receives parameter boosts proportional to to one stage above the enemy, as well as gain resistance to all the respecting enemies' non-physical attacks and abilities. As the Ultimate One of Humanity, Arturia possesses immense charisma, this skill working in conjunction with Heavenly Dragon, raising Arturia's Charisma skill to rank A+. 

Hero of Humanity (EX): A skill granted to the Heroic Spirit that broke the limits of Humanity. A True Hero who stands in defense of humanity. All incoming super-effective and non-super-effective damage reduced to normally effective damage, and all outgoing damage is super-effective to all entities except humans. 

Heavenly Dragon (A): A skill granted to one who defied the Heavens and became a Heavenly Dragon, a calamitous force of nature that stands upon the top of the world. The gap between the Heavenly Dragons and the rest of the supernatural world is so great, that against a single Heavenly Dragon, it would take the entire combined might of the Top 10 (Except Great Red and Ophis) to truly put it down, and that's just one of them. During the Great War with both Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion were only sealed away--not killed--when the combined power of the entire supernatural world--including multiple present and former individuals in the top 10 (Weakened God of the Bible, Shiva, Brahma, Original Lucifer, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc.)--worked together to separate the souls from their nigh-invincible bodies and place them in inescapable prisons. The cost of this endeavor resulted in mass extinction across all pantheons, including the death of the God of the Bible, the Original Maous, the Primordial Creation Deity Brahma, and significant decline in strength of many Chief Gods such as Odin.

The might of a Heavenly Dragon is immense with their bodies possessing absurd physical capabilities. At Rank A, Arturia's strength, endurance, and agility rise to A++. Dragons, and the Heavenly Dragons especially, are like walking nuclear reactors of mana. They breathe raw magical energy like it's normal air. Due to already possessing incredible magical energy via Magic Core, Arturia's already absurd reserves increase even further now granting her an EX rank Mana stat. 

Arturia's aura is like that of all dragons, dominating, powerful, and alluring. As a Heavenly Dragon, this is expanded to even a greater degree, to that Arturia naturally draws attention from the Supernatural even with her aura suppressed. This skill in conjunction with her Ultimate One skill, raises her Charisma skill to rank A+. 

Currently restricted by Seal of the Foreign God

Blessed One of the Foreign God (EX): A skill denoting the blessing received by the Foreign God, Zero. Boons can be requested of the Foreign God Zero, by sacrificing an equivalent amount of Fame. 

PERSONAL SKILLS

Armor of the Heavenly Dragon at the Ends of the World (EX): A skill granted as a fusion between Arturia's Armor, her Magic Resistance skill, the blessing received by the Lance at the End of the World, and the absurd defensive capabilities of the Heavenly Dragons. Arturia's Armor now possesses incredible defense capabilities, nullifying all attacks not within the realm of the Top 10. Without her armor she still possesses incredible defensive capabilities, capable of taking an incomplete Juggernaut Drive Longinus Smasher to face and coming out with only a few scratches. This skill is restrained by Seal of the Foreign God, decreasing the effectiveness of the armor from EX to A+ and returning her base defenses to her original endurance parameter.

Mana Burst: EX (A)

Riding: A

Giant Beast Hunt (A): A skill denoting experience fighting and defeating enemies larger than oneself. Boosts effectiveness against larger enemies. 

Instinct: A

Charisma: A+

Heavenly Dragon of Salvation (EX): A skill denoting the abilities and authority of the Heavenly Dragon of Salvation. Unlike the Heavenly Dragon of Domination or the Heavenly Dragon of Annihilation, Arturia's authority as the Heavenly Dragon of Salvation, does not lie in oppressive combat prowess, but suppressive defensive capabilities. Influenced by both Avalon and Rhongomyniad, Arturia can summon a barrier that is effectively a weaker version of the Absolute Defense of Avalon. Arturia also sacrifices greater defensive and physical capabilities as a Heavenly Dragon, to possess immense regeneration, where anything but complete annihilation is able to fully kill her. In addition, Arturia possess immense healing powers, capable of healing all ailments, such as wounds, disease, and status effects, as well as even reviving the dead within a certain timeframe.

Currently completely sealed away by Seal of the Foreign God.

Seal of the Foreign God (EX): A skill denoting a seal put in place by a Foreign God. Unless certain conditions are met, Arturia's parameters are restricted to her original servant form, and certain skills are semi-restricted or completely sealed away.

NOBLE PHANTASMS:

Invisible Air: C

Dun Stallion (C): The horse of King Arthur, possessing no other special abilities except incredible physical capabilities.

Carnewann (B): The knife of King Arthur. Grants the user Presence Concealment (B) and when activated with mana, grants the user Presence Concealment (A) and makes the user completely invisible. 

Prydwen (A+): A treasure of Arturia Pendragon that could become both a shield and a ship. It is slightly buffed from it's usual A ranking to be able to transform into any form of transportation, be it car, boat, or even fighter jet. All transformations still possess the original A ranked capabilities. 

Rhongomyniad: C-EX

Excalibur: A++ (EX)

Avalon: EX

DESCRIPTION: Arturia Pendragon, also known as the King of Knights, is the legendary king of Camelot of Arthurian myth. Born with the blood of the Red and White Dragons and prophesized as the One True King of Britain, she pulled the Sword of Selection, Caliburn, from the stone and united the entirety of Britain under her banner as its king. Her reign ended after a series of unfortunate circumstances, culminating in her mortal wounding at the Battle of Camlann by her own son. As she lay dying, she made a pact with the world, becoming a Heroic Spirit with the chance of one day being summoned for the Holy Grail War, a battle where the winner receives a powerful wish; her wish being to undo her reign and never become king again.

After being summoned for countless wars and adventures, she is summoned for a Holy Grail War under the service to Shirou Emiya, the man who would eventually become her one true love and her sheathe. Under Shirou's love and care, she came to realize the foolishness of her wish and canceled her contract with the world, also regaining her legendary sheathe, and returning to the land of Avalon with the hopes of one day reuniting with her love.

At an undetermined point in time, a being known as Zero approached Arturia with an offer to have a greater chance at reuniting with her love, involving her reincarnation into a different world. Accepting the offer, Arturia Pendragon reincarnated into a new world, a fusion of Fate Worlds and DxD Worlds. As the last reminder of the previous beings before the arrival of the DxD Primordial Gods, Arturia's presence as one of the strongest Heroic Sprits, as well as her potent dragon blood, and her blessing of Zero, changed her existence in the eyes of the world. As a Heroic Spirit, the absolute Peak of Humanity, she has become a being similar to that of an Ultimate One, but instead of being the ultimate lifeform of a planet, she is the ultimate lifeform of Humanity with a role similar to Alaya/Gaia acting as Humanity's guardian. In addition, due to the more pronounced existence of the Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion, she has become the third Heavenly Dragon, the Heavenly Dragon of Salvation or the Gold Dragon Emperor. With her true and "Threat to Humanity" boosted power, already amongst the strongest in the DxD World when her strength is sealed, is now only truly in contention with Great Red, Ophis, and the Trihexa.

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To Be Continued.....

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Welcome to the end of the chapter!

As I said in the previous AN, I hope that this chapter clarified a few things, and will clarify a few things further here.

The World or FxF (Fate x Fate) World: The world Arturia reincarnated into is a DxD world built on Fate principles. It is a Lostbelt that was pruned, but somehow continues on. This world largely functions with DxD concepts in mind, but has the presence of Fate things as well. It is why though a lot of the DxD concepts will remain the same, Fate concepts will influence and change some things in the overarching world, such as the Top 10. For spoiler reasons that I cannot explain further, some Fate concepts have already made their presence in the FxF World which Arturia has something to do with. 

Top 10: As mentioned earlier the top 10 has changed via influence from Fate. As with the DxD top 10, there is no set 10 individuals, but rather 10 tiers of strength:

1. ???????, Great Red, The Trihexa, Arturia Pendragon (True Power, Threat to Humanity Boosted)

2. Ophis

3. The Heavenly Dragons, Arturia Pendragon (True Power)

4. The Abrahamic God, ?????????, The Longinus (True Power Unleashed), Top Tier Heroic Spirit

5. The Primordial Pantheon Creation Deities (Brahma, Chaos, Ymir, etc.), Shiva, the Buddha

6. Apex Archangels (Michael and Gabriel), Supreme Fallen (Azazel), The Super Devils (Sirzechs Lucifer, Ajuka Beelzebub, Rizevim Lucifer), Average Heroic Spirit, Arturia Pendragon (Sealed)

7. The Primordials (Surtr, Tartarus, Nyx, etc.), The Chief Evils of Pantheons/The Beasts of the Pantheon (Angra Mainyu, the Asuras, Apophis, Fenrir, Azi Dahaka, Typhon, etc.)

8. The Chief Gods/Chief God Equivalents (Indra, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Prime Odin, Thor, etc.)

9. The Dragon Kings (Tiamat, Tannin, Fafnir, etc.)

10. Leader-Class Supernatural (Maous, Archangels/Seraphs, Cadre, Nine-Tails, etc.), Top-Tier Servants

As of the start of this series, this is the current top 10, though it may be subject to change.

Arturia Pendragon: As you can see, I gave a buff to Baeber, but I did so for a good reason. Arturia as a Servant alone already stands in the upper echelons of DxD, as do many of the top-tier servants (Gilgamesh, Karna, Hercules, etc.). I chose to give her a buff despite this because (for reasons as non-spoilery as I can get) shit will hit the fan so to speak and she will need the buff for what is coming. Do not worry however, as Arturia will actively take a more passive role until shit hits the fan, and will remain at her normal servant strength for the most part. As for why I chose to make her a Heavenly Dragon, she already has the blood of Ddraig within her, and Albion is the alternate name for Great Britain, so I think it would be fitting given her normal strength already rivals/surpasses them and it would be funny for things in the future. 

That's all for the details I'll give for now. If people have more questions, I'll see what I can answer to the best of my ability, but otherwise just wait for the story to unfold. 

The next chapter is going to be a time-skip to the climax of the Excalibur Arc, because the Riser Arc has no bearing on the plot beyond developing the relationship between Issei and Rias.

I will see you all in the next one, peace!