'I am here again…'
A field that personified hell. That's where she was. Sitting atop a pile of corpses, she found herself back at the starting point.
Her once shining armor marred with blood and dents losing its lustre, the fine cloth beneath it torn in places. Her blonde hair akin to gold had lost its shine because of the dirt of the battlefield. And her beautiful face had lost the smile it once had.
Her blank eyes stared ahead. Dead bodies lay across the land, crows feasted upon the flesh of her allies and enemies. The swords they polished throughout their lives with pride, now turned to worthless scrap. To her right was her offspring, one she had to slay herself.
The horns blew the end of the war, but the same was true for her nation.
And she couldn't accept that.
All this could be saved as long as she won the Holy Grail war. It was possible, she had come close this time. It was right in front of her. If she could do it again, she was sure of winning.
No, she had to win.
No matter what, she had to win.
"Everyone... Lancelot…" Tears streamed down her face.
The deaths of everyone here, her loyal subject that she killed to contest for the grail. If she didn't win, it would be all for nothing.
These deaths, the suffering of her subjects, the pain of her followers, and the end of the nation she was meant to protect.
If she didn't win, she would lose everything.
"I'll win… no matter what… I'll win…" She cried on the battlefield in the wake of her failure.
For the first time since her coronation, the mask of the king had broken. However, no one was there to see her true self. The king that people thought had no feelings, suffered the most for her people without showing it so they could be strong.
But no matter how strong her resolve, or how many times she tried. She couldn't win a Holy Grail war. In the end, Artoria had to accept her death and the end of her nation.
After that, the faeries carried her, the greatest King Britain had seen, to Avalon. There she would be granted eternal peace, free from her burdens and duties.
That was her fate.
However, a new force had arrived in the world. An object that wasn't supposed to be there, had passed through the cracks in the world.
A door stood before her, and the last ray of hope appeared in front of the King of Knights. Like a pillar under the ray of sunlight piercing through the dark clouds.
"I don't care… I don't care what sacrifice you want from me… as long as… as long as..." Stumbling over her steps, Artoria reached the door with the help of her spear smeared with her child's blood.
There was a feeling rising in her chest, a confidence like never before. It whispered to her Open the door and you'll succeed, a soft feeling it was, like the spring breeze that passed by unnoticed, yet she couldn't ignore it. With the twist of the handle, she opened the door.
A bright light flashed, making her close her tired eyes for a moment as she passed through the doorframe hearing it close behind.
"Welcome to the Wish Shop. My name is Adam, what can I help you with?" The low but affable voice drew her attention.
The mortal wound that was killing her vanished, all the pain and torment her mind went through melted like snow under the sun.
There was another woman there, but her eyes focused on the man standing near the sofa. The air around him appeared normal, however, something stirred in her chest yet again. An instinct sharper than any sword.
"Are you… one of my kin?" She asked.
"Hmm?"
'What is she saying, this woman?' Adam blinked in confusion with his polite smile. Her eyes full of seriousness didn't leave the doubt of her joking, there must be a reason behind that question. But that wasn't the time for that.
"So, what can I do for you?" Adam asked, leaving the previous topic.
"…About the words on the door, I'd like to discuss the terms." Although a flash of vigilance appeared in the knight's eyes, it left almost the very next moment.
"Well, before that I'd need to know what your wish is. By all means, take a seat first." Adam invited her to the sofa before asking. "Tea or coffee?"
"…Water will suffice." She said taking a seat, she didn't want anything but found it hard to ignore his courtesy.
After Grayfia gave her a glass of water, the woman accepted it and drank it in a very refined manner. Her eyes stayed on the maid for a while but quickly turned back to Adam.
"My name is Arthur Pendragon, and I wish to save my kingdom and its subjects from ruin. I don't care what I have to do for it, so please speak as clearly as possible." She had a similar deal with the counterforce, but even if the method given to her was straightforward, she had trouble seeing it to the end. Not to mention the counterforce trying to take advantage of her in that moment of desperation.
"I see, so you are a king." Adam tilted his head, the fact that the knight in front of him wasn't a male was all too clear. She was someone pretending to be a male. Why would she do that? The question didn't matter to him along with the sense of Déjà vu.
"So, do you have any specific ways you want that to happen?" He asked.
"Yes, for starters I would like to go back in time and prevent myself from becoming the king." She said, her eyes full of strength and conviction.
"Wait… You said you wanted to save your kingdom?" Adam felt like he had missed some vital information in the middle, and he was correct.
"I failed my kingdom and my subjects. So, my goal is to see that someone truly worthy of the throne sits on it and leads Britain." She clenched her hands almost twisting the metal gauntlet on her right hand.
"I see, so you want your younger self to have memories of the future so it can prevent you from taking the throne?" Adam asked.
"Ideally yes." She nodded, although the fact that it might not be possible was clear, she still wanted to add another thing. "And in case I still fail… I want to know if it would be possible to do it again."
Even doing this once wasn't possible for her, even if she knew of the grail wars and participated in them, she had never received the chance to wish upon it. So, something like this seemed much harder compared to her initial wish, however, there was a surge of trust blooming in her heart for some reason.
"I might have to talk with the admin of your world, but it is possible." And Adam didn't betray that feeling. "But it will make the payment a bit too much."
"Have no worries, I have no thoughts of going back on my words. Even if you turn me into a mindless puppet I shall not complain." She said firmly. "So, what is the payment? Can we talk about it now or after everything is settled?"
...
It's good to be back.