Guts. Not much is known about this man. Mages have investigated into this character, only to discover old transcripts that mention king Arthur. Many have tried to summon him. All have failed.
That was the question Guts asked himself when he looked around. It was a hillside, overlooking a fresh, healthy field. He lacked his armor and his sword, instead wearing his black shirt, pants and boots. He wasn't injured either, nor did his clothing show any evidence of confrontation with Wyald. He looked around before spotting a familiar woman standing in front of a tree, looking down at something. So Guts made his way forward, hoping to speak with the woman.
"Merlin.....?"
"Oh, hello Guts." Merlin said without smiling, something that definitely didn't go unnoticed by Guts. Sensing an upcoming question from the swordsman, Merlin decided to answer before it could be asked. "Welcome to you're mind. I'll be honest, not as........peaceful as I thought it would be."
"....oh......did we win?" Guts asked as he looked at the mage he was approaching. "Is Wyald dead?"
"Yes...." Merlin chuckled as she kneeled down and reached for something in front of her with both hands. "After that little power boost I gave you we managed to kill Wyald.........you're body is currently laying in a carriage beside Artoria....."
"ARTORIA!" Guts shouted, eyes widening in realization as he came to a stop behind the flower mage. "You have to heal her! She's incredibly injured and—!"
"I know......but I can't do it."
".........what?" Guts spoke as he watched Merlin stand up, yet the mage had not turned towards him. Instead, she looked down at whatever she was holding, rocking from side to side. "What do you mean you can't? I've seen you heal wounds far worse than—!"
"I can't heal her........" Merlin spoke softly as the sun began to set in the distance. "......you know, even without Caliburn, Artoria always had a fast healing factor......one time when she was seven, she nearly cut her pinky off with a sword, the small thing was hanging on by only a few threads of muscle. But I watched as the muscles grew and reattached themselves, pulling the pinky back together......a few children saw that miracle of her blood and considered her a freak....."
Guts watched as the scenery changed before his eyes. He now stood on the edge of a small city, right beside a stable house. He opened his mouth and wanted to ask what this had to do with healing Artoria, but stopped when he heard the sound of sobbing. Looking towards the stables, he saw a child crying in the back.
A young Artoria, sobbing to herself as mud covered her face and nice clothes, even covering her blonde hair.
"Artoria........?" Guts asked as he took a step towards the crying girl, reaching out a hand to place on her shoulder, only for his hand to go through her.
"She longed for a friend......someone to make the pain go away." Merlin told him as she watched Guts. "She was terrified of Vortigern......a boogeyman that children taunted her with......but then one day......."
"Fight me! If I win I put a hole in you're chest as big as my blade!"
Guts's eyes widened as the scene shifted. In front of him was......himself and Artoria. It was their first meeting, the younger Guts pointing a sword at Artoria. The younger man unaware he was challenging a girl two years his younger to death battle.
"A duel?" Artoria asked with a tilt of her head. "If your upset, I apologize for any injuries you sustained.......but what if I win?"
"Heh, then you can have whatever you want." The younger Guts smirked. "My sword or my ass!"
Guts watched the memory play out, a soft smile on his face as he watched the battle. Seeing this reminded Guts how much of an asshole he was back then.
"...you were Artoria's first friend....her first—" Merlin stopped herself, smiling before the scenery reverted back to it's first stage.
"Why can't you heal Artoria?" Guts asked her, turning towards the woman. Merlin noticed a small tears forming in Guts's eyes. "Why can't you fix her?"
"It was how she was tortured......" Merlin sighed at Guts's persistence. "She was tortured constantly throughout the past year in that dungeon.......she healed at first when she was tortured, but the imp constantly tortured her enough to make her healing factor believe she was fully healed. So even if I healed her, the body wouldn't know how to deal with the healed wounds, leading to a possible self destruction of her entire body."
"........I'll kill Morgan." Guts gritted his teeth. He didn't know what else to say. He was just told his best friend would die if she was healed. "I'm going to kill her, Vortigern, and anyone else who tries to hurt Artoria!"
".....I don't think that's a good idea." Merlin sighed as she looked down at thing in her arms. "Your first thought is that of vengeance, instead of making sure Artoria is safe."
"SHE HAS TO DIE!" Guts shouted before turning to her. "WHAT SHE DID TO ARTORIA, TO MORDRED!"
"......you feel nothing but hate." Merlin sighed as she turned towards Guts. The man's eyes widened upon seeing a dark shadow substance laying in Merlin's arms. "This is a darkness that resides within you.....everyone has a little in their head, whispering acts of sin.....but yours grows like a weed........so listen to me when I say this: I know a way to restore Artoria to her glory. But if it accepts her as it's master, you take her far away from Britain and put behind all this rage and hatred before it evolves into some........Beast."
".........I thought you just said you couldn't heal her?" Guts's eyes widened as he grabbed Merlin's shoulders and pulled her close to him. "What can heal her?!"
"...........a Sword."
End.
Criticism is welcome.
Sorry if it felt like I was all over the place.
Don't worry......I'm going to touch up on Mordred.
Hope you guys are having a good day/knight.
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