Chapter 2

"Artoria, Gilgamesh, breakfast is ready, please wake up and wash yourself, I'll be waiting in the dining room for you two. Please hurry or the food will get cold."

The said blonds groggily pulled themselves up from the bed, opening their eyes and looked around when Shirou called them, but soon found themselves fully awaken as soon as Shirou mentioned 'breakfast'.

The two hurriedly helped themselves up and into the bathroom at the end of the hallway, and cleaning up as fast as they could before both Artoria and Gilgamesh literally rushed down the hallway adjacent to the previous one, into the dining room.

"Oh great, you came just in time. I was just finishing preparing the dishes. Good morning to both of you, Gilgamesh, Artoria." Greeted Shirou with a bright smiles, before the two blondes both greeted him back.

The trio sat around the table and has a peaceful breakfast, with Gilgamesh watching the news from the television that somehow is an 8K OLED, which is something that wouldn't appear for at least 30 more years. And also despite the fact that most of the content at that time is only about 360p in resolution, 480p if you're lucky since the tech just came out a few years earlier.
(Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read somewhere that SD – standard definition = 720 x 480 pixels came out sometime in 1980s – Shirou's 2nd year in highschool in 2004, meaning he's born in 1987 if I'm correct, with the Great Fire 10 years before the start of Fate/Stay Night, the year is 1994 and he should be 7)

'So having a TV like that seems overkill, but she's Gilgamesh, who are you kidding, she likes to get all grandeur and luxurious and stuffs.

How did she get it you ask? I don't know. Using 'Gate of Babylon', the holder of all treasures of mankind maybe? Go ask the Author… oh wait, I am the Author… uhhhhh, I didn't just said that, forget it, I didn't said anything.

But anyway, the point here is that she get the TV from who knows where, and that's not really important, or is it?'

Finishing their breakfast, they thanked Shirou for the meal before asking if he need help washing the dishes. He refused immediately, with sweats flowing from his forehead, remembering what happened a few weeks ago.

Flashback

It was the evening of the day when Shirou was brought to the Emiya manor. Seeing it was late already, the two blondes decided to cook with whatever they can find in the fridge.

However, that soon spoke to be a disaster. The rice was burnt to charcoal, vegetable is falling on the ground and somehow, the water is on fire.

Okay, he get the fact that they were both powerful, but he was sure they weren't using any spells at all, so how in all that is holy did they MADE THE WATER ON FIRE?

So, after an eventful night involving Kirei calling the fire fighters, and using some memory altering spells, and ordered some Chinese noodles from a nearby restaurant, Shirou said that he'd cook for all of them from now on, seeing how disastrous it can get with the two of them in the kitchen.

They objected at first, saying that he was just 7 years old and doesn't need to cook just yet, but changed their mind in the next morning after they ate the breakfast he made.

Apparently Shirou here has some natural talent in the arts of culinary, and within the span of a few weeks, he repertoire of recipe has increased expotentionally, ranging from Japan to Chinese, Korea and some of France cuisine, with some help from Gilgamesh getting all the books and equipments in the kitchen for him, claiming that "If you were in my time, I would have recruited you as my royal chef. Be proud of your talent Shirou." which Artoria nodded in agreement.

Back to present

(It was at this moment that I suddenly remembered some other red head that is also a good cook, I then wondered: Hmm, how about foodgasm?)

Shirou then asked "What is foodgasm?"

The other two eating at the table just looked at him confused, having no idea why he's suddenly asked that, and what the heck is foodgasm he is saying.

"What are you talking about Shirou, why did you suddenly ask that?" Artoria said

"Wait, you guys didn't hear anything? I heard someone talking about someone with redhead and foodgasm." Shirou replied.

Artoria and Gilgamesh just shook her head and looked at him confused.

"Must be my imagination then, sorry for asking that." Shirou sheepishly replied.

"It's ok, you don't need to apologize over something like this. But are you sure you're okay?" Artoria asked, concern in her eyes. Gilgamesh also glanced at Shirou.

"Yea I'm fine. By the way, when should we start training?" Shirou inquired, effectively changed the subject.

"Ah yes, I did promise you to train you in swordsmanship didn't I. Well then, let's finish the breakfast then shall we?" Artoria said as she happily devoured the food in front of her at a rapid rate. Gilgamesh also sped up her eating speed, although she didn't eat as much as Artoria, no matter how good she found the food Shirou made is, simply because she can't eat that much. This in turn proves how abnormal Artoria's stomach is to be able to hold all that amount of food without her gaining weight.

- After the breakfast -

Shirou and Artoria sitting across each other, with their shinai laying beside them.

Artoria then started "You need to remember this carefully Shirou. Swordsmanship is an art, a tool to protect oneself from harm. It is not used to hurt other, so unless threatened or in danger, we shall not make the first strike. As much as I would like to, I shall not teaching you the code of Chivalry, seeing how man in this age and time relied on backhanded tactics and disregard honor."

"Yes, Artoria. I promise to only wield my sword to protect myself, my family and the good." Replied Shirou, his golden eyes shining with determination.

"Good!" Artoria said with a small smile

"Now then, before we start training with the sword, you will need stamina, strength and agility first. We shall start with workouts to build up those, beginning with running in the morning, basic exercises after that, and then in the afternoon, Gilgamesh will train with you in regards of magecraft." Artoria said, laying out a schedule for Shirou to follow from now on.

What about academics, you might ask, well with Gilgamesh, he doesn't need to go to any school. Simply with her divine knowledge, which spans to even modern world's knowledge by using her Clairvoyance.

Subjects such as Math, Physics, and other scientific subjects are easy for her, as she has stored away every blueprint, design, idea of humanity in the Gate of Babylon.

Literatures and such are also no problem, as being a king, she needs to have sufficient knowledge about these as well.

So all in all, that sums up the reason Shirou is being home schooled by Gilgamesh at the moment, in the afternoon.

Their magecraft lesson ended about half an hour ago, after which Shirou rested for about 20 minutes before Gilgamesh started her academic lessons for him.

…

After a straight 5 hours of studying, which is a miracle that Shirou hasn't collapsed due to mental exhaustion, Gilgamesh dragged him into the bathroom to clean both of them up before letting Shirou made dinner.

Artoria diligently waited in the dining room and greeted Shirou, asking him if he needed any help regarding dinner, in which he politely refused.

The wonderful dinner consisted of Beef Bourguignon, carefully cooked low and slow, a side dish of Caesar Salad, some creamy mashed potatoes with bread. They finished their dinner at roughly eight in the evening, which afterward Artoria volunteered to help with washing the dishes.

The trio rested at the engawa (outer corridor of a traditional japanese house), enjoying the view of the beautiful night sky, before Gilgamesh led both Artoria and Shirou to the shed in the yard.

"Today, I taught you some of the basic knowledge about magecraft. But before we begin any training, we need to figure out what is your Origin and Element.

As you already know, Magecraft or Thaumaturgy, is the artificial reenactment of Mystery, which is ordinarily possible only by inhuman beings.

It is the ability to bring about what is possible through science with supernatural means; although the process is considered a miracle, the result is not. The limits of Magecraft have changed with time, as science evolved and Magic from the past became possible through science.

There exists no impossibility for modern Magecraft within the rules of the world and limits of human intellect; there are limitations, however, where it only appears that something is possible. Because Magecraft acts as the reenactment of preexisting phenomena, it is impossible to use it to create new Mysteries; even with an infinite amount of research, there exists a "wall" preventing human wisdom from doing so in the current era. The realm past this "wall" is known as Magic.

Modern Magecraft is inferior to that from the Age of Gods in terms of magnitude because magi from that era had acquired their magical energy from the Root directly. The difference between modern and traditional Magecraft is explainable by the difference in civilizations - while the civilization of the Age of Gods existed side-by-side with the truth, the civilization of the Age of Man exists in order to search for the truth.

Now then, where does that leads us exactly to the question about Origins and Elements?

Origin is the starting point that defines one's existence and directs one's actions throughout life. It is the driving force that comes from within the Root that has managed to stream out of the Source and take on material form. The form it can take on at times is that of a human being, and all humans match their actions to be in harmony with the driving force that originated them from the moment they enter into the world.

These actions are more along the lines of an inherent compulsion that could be called a person's instinct rather than a conscious decision. If a person becomes awakened to their Origin, it becomes nearly impossible to stray from their Origin if it's even possible in the first place. It becomes an impulsive behavior one would follow as though it were an absolute order.

Under the system of Magecraft, Origins are used to describe precise details about a magus, while Elemental Affinity indicates one's general alignment. Magi with an Origin that is strongly expressed outwardly are sometimes removed from the normal alignments and there are times that the origin itself becomes the alignment. Most of those magi exhibit their talents as extreme specialists, allowing them to potentially reach higher grounds than normal magi.

Even those without an Elemental Affinity are sometimes still capable of casting spells simply by following their Origin. It's possible for them to overcome great obstacles such as a lack of Circuits or a lack of talent for Magecraft altogether.

Now then, Elements.

Elements are the basic substances that shape the World and play an important role in Magecraft.

Depending on the teachings of Magecraft schools, one could classify everything of reality into different sets of Elements. The four classical elements (Fire, Water, Earth and Wind) are said to come from Arche in ancient Greece.

Other elements, such as Void, are also added in order to make their classification more practical.

Next is the Elemental Affinity.

A Magus normally has the capacity to manipulate at least one of the Elements. However, there are cases of those who can manipulate Elements that are completely different from any of the ones specified above. Within the Mage's Association, individuals like these tend to either very selective houses or not be part of the Association at all. Cases of a magus who possesses more than one Elemental Affinity, and even affinity to Compound Elements, are also known.

Those capable of manipulating all the five Elements receive the title of Average One and are highly valued by the Mage's Association. Methods to change one's Elemental Affinity exist, but they are very painful and dangerous, so I suggest you shouldn't even think about changing it.

There are two types of known Elements, the Five Great and the Imaginary.

The Five Great Elements consisted of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Ether.

The two Imaginary Elements are Hollow and Nothingness.

I shall go into details of these Elements in the next lesson. For now, step inside this circle and sit down, Shirou."

Gilgamesh ended her speech, barely winded from speaking for such a long time.

…

After a few chants from Gilgamesh, the world around him seems to darken.

The first thing that came to his mind that he was standing on a grass hill, lush green. As the ground was bright as though it was mid day, when he looked up he saw that the sky was as same as midnight, bright star filled the cosmos.

Looking down once again, before his eyes stood two swords, one familiar and the other unknown to him.

Just as he saw them, they disappeared into motes of light, fading away, replacing his visions with raging inferno at the horizon. The dark, twisted flames tried to advance, but as they got closed to him, their advance suddenly halt, being blocked by some kind of barrier. Eventually, the fire was pushed back until it perish into nothingness.

Light sprung forth from seemingly nowhere, before his vision once again turned black.

…

Before he knew it, he was back at the shed, Artoria and Gilgamesh hovering over him, their eyes conveyed concern to him.

He just gave them his sheepish smile while accepting both of their stretched arm to lift himself up.

Gilgamesh looked at him for a good moment before speaking "Well, in all of my life, I have never seen anything as interesting as you, Shirou. Now, would you like me to tell you about your Origin and Element?"

"Yes, please" He replied

"Very good. You have 2 Origin, both of them have never been seen before, 'Sword' and the other one is 'Chaos'. It seems that being bathed in the flames which holds 'All the Evils in the World', combining with Avalon, and the 'Crown of Immortality' created some truly fascinating results. The evil curses, the holy sheath and the divine crown, truly chaotic in nature.

I infer that the flames has wiped out the former you, leaving you in the blank state, which the curses then inflicted itself upon you. But then, with Artoria giving you Avalon, and I gave you the Crown, their attribute mixed together inside your soul to create this end product." Gilgamesh said, an amused smile on her face as she looked into Shirou's eyes, now turned a shade of red in the outer part and the inner part turned pure gold.

"Next is your Element. The first one is Sword, this align with your Origin making you an incarnation, secondly is Nothingness, this is the second of the two Imaginary Elements I told you before.

With you being an Incarnation, and also having one of the two Imaginary Elements, should this be known to the magi world, they would jump at any chance to take you as their experiment subject. But fear not, Artoria and I will protect you, and we will train you so you can protect yourself from those mongrel as well."

Shirou looked at them, surprised by the explanation of Gilgamesh, before bowing and said "I know that this cannot repay you for what you two have done to save me, but I once again thank you, both of you, for saving me and granting me a second chance to live."

Artoria and Gilgamesh looked at him, their expressions soften, Gilgamesh smiled and Artoria pat him on the head.

That night as they went to sleep, Shirou noted that it was the first time he wasn't plagued with the horrid images of the Great Fire during his dreams. Instead he was in a hill of grass, somewhat similar to what he saw earlier, but there was a great tall white tower in the distance.

- End -

Aaaaaaand that's it for today's chapter, thank you folks for reading. I have to correct my statement on the first chapter though. I am just knowledgeable about the Fate series, not as the whole Nasuverse, sorry I forgot about the Alien Gods and stuffs until I saw the 5th Lostbelt.

Even so, I would still make some mistakes now and then, and if you find any of those, I'd like to receive your review about that so I could fix those immediately.

Oh yeah, I also have a question for you guys. Would you guys like an ero web novel (which would be filled with short chapters about their daily lives of 18+) about Shirou, Gilgamesh and Artoria? That is similar to extra chapters, which I'll post separately from this one. Also, would you like me to draw illustrations for this fiction? If you do, please leave a review and I'll make sure to read, and reply if possible.

Replying to Anon A(Which somehow I can't use the reply function in the inbox): Thank you for your review, I really like the fact that you share my opinion on EMIYA as well, he's a good guy in FGO but in Fate/Stay Night he's a literal a**hole. Also, this Shirou will be less nerve grating than the original, which almost made me went crazy from thinking about his actions.

As for the other comments which I haven't replied, yes I do know which one I haven't replied, I got one thing to say to all of you: THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORTS. That's all I gotta say.

Ah, almost forgot, another thing. It seems that many of you think that Artoria here has the appearance of Salter, did I made you think so? Then I must apologize. She has the appearance of the original Saber, although for those of you who read the fandom of F/SN, you would know what to expect from Artoria and Gilgamesh's appearance in the next few chapter. Thank you 'LuxKamizugi' for the suggestion about 'that' which I forgot that not only KoGil have.

Also, from now on I shall write a glossary at the end of the chapter too, or I can make it into another sub series for this fic, which would be updated as the story progress. If you guys wanted to make a sub series then I'll include Character Stats as well, not just the Noble Phantasm.

So, here's today Glossary (I must give credits to ekaterina016 for their awesome work with HV-S02 and the awesome information from their glossary)

A

Avalon – The Everdistant Utopia (全て遠き理想郷)

Type: Barrier

Rank: EX

Maximum number of targets: 1

Summary: is the hallowed scabbard of Excalibur, the embodiment of the utopia King Arthur seeks, originally stolen from her shortly before the Battle of Camlann due to the machinations of Morgan le Fay. It is a luxurious piece of equipment made of gold and decorated with blue enamel that seems more like a treasure to show dignity and nobility like a crown or staff than a weapon. No one knows what kind of Divine Mystery it is made from, but it was created by fairies along with Excalibur, an inscription written in Fairy Letters engraved on its center to show that it is not the work of man. It bequeaths limited immortality through constant regeneration, as well as preventing physical deterioration caused by aging. The utopia Avalon was thought to be derived from the island that produced the "Apple of Immortality" in Greek Mythology.

C

Crown of Immortality (不死の王冠)

Type: Support

Rank: A++

Maximum number of target: 1

Summary: The Crown of Immortality is a literary and religious metaphor traditionally represented in art first as a laurel wreath and later as a symbolic circle of stars (often a crown, tiara, halo or aureola). The Crown appears in a number of Baroque iconographic and allegoric works of art to indicate the wearer's immortality.

However, having not steeped in the faith of people around the world, as being the prototype for the Wreath Crown of Osiris, it does not yet have the ability to grant total immortality. At the point of time that Gilgamesh stored this crown into her Gate of Babylon, this crown is just a golden crown of excellent quality, brimming with Mystery but lacking in Conceptual Weight to be considered as a Divine Artifact.

It's shape and design is somewhat close to Crown of the Stars of Artoria, but more ancient in design.

I'll make an illustration of this crown and post it in the next chapter, probably.