Throne of Heroes I: A Hero's Summoning

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His legs simply moved forward in a dead sprint, the single-minded instinct of 'RUN! HIDE! RUN!' overwhelming his thoughts. As he scrambled forward, his body running on pure instinct and utterly animalistic fear, the fear of death preventing him from doing anything else. Mind nearly lost to fear and the desire to escape, Shirou was entirely unprepared for the blue figure that suddenly appeared at his side, materializing in a shower of tiny blue lights like some sort of ghost.

Shirou's eyes widened and he made to dodge, but to his hunter, he might as well have been utterly frozen in place. A mouth of sharp teeth opened in a bloodthirsty grin and the man in blue spun in place, extending his leg as he did so.

The boy was flung into the shed, the force of the blue creature's kick nearly enough to shatter his ribs by itself. Shirou let out a pained gasp as he hit the ground, audibly groaning as he tumbled head over heels further into the cluttered shed. Without a doubt, he was bruised all over but he couldn't stop moving. He couldn't let himself die.

Not again.

He didn't want to die.

He had to live.

To become a hero.

To die without saving a single person… what kind of hero was that?

Grunting, Shirou pulled himself up, only to fall back on his elbows as he tried to clamber to his feet. As he hit the ground again, he winced as the harsh impact jarred his bones, his body still suffering from the previous powerful blow. His flailing hands grabbed onto a blank poster-board, Shirou instinctively applying Reinforcement to it in lieu of another, more capable item to use as a weapon.

The rush of wind at his back screamed in his ears, announcing his killer's arrival and Shirou lunged forward, twisting around as he unfurled the Reinforced poster-board in front of him. In a burst of light, the makeshift shield exploded into fragments of useless paper and Shirou was launched forward again from the sheer force of it.

Heart beating like a rabbit's, Shirou trembled in both pain and fear as he stared up at the admittedly handsome face of his attacker, a ponytail of blue hair blowing with the wind at his back. "It's too bad, kid." The blue-haired spearman glanced down at him, a vicious smirk on his lips. He spun his lance, ending his flourish by resting the barbed weapon on his neck and shoulders. "You've got conviction, guts, a real fight in ya… I bet you could have been a hell of a fighter in your prime."

The lancer twisted his weapon again, spinning it into his hands in a series of movements that Shirou could barely track. His grip tightened around the lance as he pointed the tip at Shirou, his blood still dripping from the weapon. "Any last words?"

Shirou stared up at him, raw anger and determination clear in his eyes.

"When I was young," the auburn-haired boy placed a single hand over his heart as he stared daggers at his assailant, "the previous version of me died in an accident. I was saved by the most valiant act of heroism I could ever comprehend." His other hand clenched at his side, blood dripping from his tightened fist onto the floor. "I'm never letting that feeling go. I'm never letting it die!"

As the blood dripped onto the floor, a blue glow began to shine from behind Shirou, a circle etched onto the floor responding to his unintended aria as the hand clenched to his chest began to subtly shine as well, an esoteric mark etching itself onto his hand. "Even if my body dies, the image in my mind of that hero will live on! And as long as I'm here, I'll be the vessel that becomes that image! And save everyone in front of me!"

There was dead silence after Shirou made his emotional proclamation, fire still in his eyes as the superhuman killer stared him down, his head tilted in amusement. "Those are some spirited last words, kid. Still… spirited or not, it's time to say goodbye."

The blue spearman raised his weapon, lifting it back as the mark on Shirou's hand flared brightly, finally completing the image of three curving lines coming together to form a stylized letter "A."

Lancer's red eyes widened as the light caught his eye, realizing what that mark meant. "No!" Screaming at the top of his lungs, he plunged the bloody spear forward on a direct path for Shirou's furiously beating heart.

For a single instant, Shirou stared at the approaching tip of the crimson spear, the world essentially frozen in time in his mind. I can't! I won't! I'm not going to die like this! Still, there was nothing he could do to-

"PLAYER ONE HAS ENTERED THE GAME!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

An explosion of light flared into existence, blinding Shirou as a powerful burst of wind filled the shed and forced him to shut one of his eyes, the teen's arms raised over his face instinctively to protect himself from the elements.

The sound of steel meeting steel in a violent clash rang out in the enclosed space, the blue spearman letting out a surprised curse as something slammed into him with audible force. Just like that, the wannabe murderer was sent flying out of the shed as if shot from a cannon.

"Holy crap on a cracker, was that Lancer?" questioned another voice. "That was actually Lancer… dope."

As quickly as he could, Shirou blinked the dust from his eyes as he tried to catch sight of where it came from. "Who…"

The words fell from his lips, utterly forgotten as Shirou stared up at the form of his rescuer, bright blonde hair and mirthful blue eyes staring down at him with a smile that seemed to shine with a brilliance all it's own. Silver and blue armor framed his body, the heroic knight holding aloft a pulsing, golden sword as he stood in the doorway of the shed, moonlight framing his face like an angel's halo.

"Yo, Shirou, it's you! Guess you're my Master, huh?" The resplendent knight broke the silence, barely-repressed laughter audible in every syllable as he tilted his head to stare down at the boy that remained on his knees. "Don't worry, buddy, I won't let mean ol' Mister Lancer get you!"

Spinning on his heels, the blond turned his back to Shirou as he thrust his hands up in the air excitedly. "Talk about a Special Event Quest! A hero against Heroic Spirits! A battle for the ages starring the new King of Knights himself!" Throwing his head back, the self-proclaimed "King of Knights" let out a deep laugh, one that nearly came off as maniacal more than it was joyful.

"Man, this Grail War is gonna be smashing!" The armored hero did a little dance as he spoke, his voice taking on something of a posh British accent at the end, before launching himself out of the shed in a burst of displaced air. "Tally-Ho and away we go!"

As dust and blue motes of magical light continued to dance around him, the third-rate magus simply blinked in the wake of the giddy knight's disappearance, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.

"...what."