Disclaimer: I don't own The Rising of the Shield Hero or the Fate franchise. These privileges belong to their respective owners.

Prologue: The Rebirth of A Sword Hero

"So… I guess this is goodbye…"

The Summoning Chamber of Chaldea was quiet with sadness.

It was a savage battle. Many Servants had fallen in their effort to subdue the final enemy. But in the end, the final enemy of humankind, the Last Evil of Humanity, the final enemy Chaldea had to fight, had been defeated. And the survivors of the world were now looking at the dawn shining on them with new hope.

The world might have been ravaged, but humanity is resilient. They always manage to stand up even in the most hopeless moments. And they will stand up this time, too. Maybe in ten years, maybe in a century, or maybe even in a millennium… And this time, it will be a better world.

And with the final mission finished, there's no more reason for the dead to linger around.

Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't hold back her tears. Even though it was just a few years, the Servants and Chaldea had become like a big family to her. They had been sharing so many great moments, experiencing a lot of things she had never known before in her life… Just thinking about all of them suddenly having to leave her, all at once, hurt her chest so much.

"Please… I don't want you to go…"

A strong, tanned hand grasped her right shoulder.

"Now Master, I thought I already taught you enough, but it seems you still haven't learned enough. You have succeeded in saving humanity not once, but thrice; you should raise your head and be proud of yourself. Even though we are going away, you will still be here; you all are the ones who will lead the world back on its track, not us. We are just a bunch of dead people whose job is to assist you in your journey, and now your journey has reached its end, there is no need for us to be here anymore. It's time for you to walk on your own, and we believe that you would be able to do it without us."

The final Master of Chaldea bit her lips to stiffen her sniffle, and nodded in determination. Then she gave the command.

"Begin the process of returning Heroic Spirits to the Throne of Heroes!"

Different from the Fuyuki-based Servant Summoning System, the FATE Summoning System doesn't make a copy of a Servant from the Throne of Heroes and pull them to the summoning point, but rather, it briefly pulls the original soul of the Heroic Spirit from the Throne, leaving everything else of the hero – the body blueprint, the experiences, the power, everything else – at the throne as a record, and put it into a blueprint called the Saint Graph. When the Servants are killed in battle or something similar, the soul would return to the Throne to make the complete Heroic Spirit again, but with no memories. However, if it is returned properly with the returning process, they will be able to return with the memories of their summoning fully intact, since memories basically are stored in the soul itself.

"Archer!"

Ritsuka's voice made the tanned man turn his head. She was looking at him, still with teary eyes, but right now on her face was a confident and firm smile.

"We're going to meet again! And when that time comes, you'd better be waiting for me on the Throne of Heroes!"

Usually, if anyone said that, he would not hesitate to send a Torashinai at their head. But this time, he smiled. There's no need to stop the girl, especially if she more than deserves the honor of being a true hero.

"I will be waiting."

Then, with a final smile, Counter Guardian EMIYA left the world in a rain of light glitter.

And the next thing he knew was that he was somewhere else.

The Throne of Heroes is basically a gigantic library storing the data of heroic figures from all points in history. The only difference is, instead of having the data compressed into numbers and documents, it removes the heroes themselves from the cycle of reincarnation and stores everything about them, including their souls, their memories, their experiences and everything else in a space that exists outside of both the World and the time axis, so that they can be summoned to aid the planet and humanity in times of need.

But right now, Counter Guardian EMIYA was pretty sure that he was not in the Throne. Even without opening his eyes, he could still feel the difference in his surroundings. He couldn't even feel any of the familiar connection to the World, or the Throne of Heroes, or even the binding contract with Alaya that forced him to be a Counter Guardian anymore. It's just like… he was in another world devoid of any contact with the Earth.

He opened his eyes, and saw himself in an unfamiliar place.

He was standing in a huge chamber which reeked of Western royalty presence. Large mosaic windows covered the walls in front of him, and at the far side of the room, there was a golden throne with a middle-aged man sitting on it, wearing a crown and royal garments, obviously a king or someone similar. Standing at the sides were soldiers wearing shiny suits of armor with weapons ready in their hands.

What the hell is going on…?

"Four Holy Heroes from other worlds! Please help save our world!"