Chapter 1- Hell's Valley

Shirou saw hell manifest in the fire.

The air was laden with smoke and ash, the sound of dying screams echoed across the smog and the smell of burning flesh circulated through the air.

This image became his first memory, his previous memories burned along with the fire that took everyone from him.

He walked through the fire, without aim, ignoring the death and destruction around him.

His lungs burned, the smoke flooding his lungs as he grasped for breath desperately. His legs ached, the pain coursing through his body with each step. But he kept moving forward, the heat reminding him that if he stopped, he would never move again.

So, he kept walking and walking, through the inferno of ash and blood.

Shirou started to feel tired of all the effort. How long had he been walking for? Maybe he should take a rest and end his own misery.

Maybe then he could forgive himself, for ignoring all those lives, all those screaming for him to save them, for the sake of his own.

Weakness shot through his body and his knees began to buckle. Shirou did not resist as his body crumpled onto the ground, knowing that he no longer had anything left to escape from this hell.

Shirou raised his hand, looking up into the night sky, the stars and moon were covered by the vicious smog and accursed flames.

He couldn't even look at the stars anymore, as his vision grew blurrier and blurrier. This truly was hell, and it might have been his destiny to die in such a horrible way.

And with that, Shirou closed his eyes, accepting the sweet embrace of death.

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Shirou's eyes opened with a start. His startled eyes immediately became colored with confusion.

The last thing he remembered was dying in the midst of those flames, his body beyond recovery. He shouldn't be alive right now, yet the feeling of sand rubbing against his body couldn't be faked.

Wait, sand? What? Where was he?

It was only now that Shirou registered his surroundings and gasped at what he saw.

Two enormous pitch-black cliffs, reached into the skies with no end in sight. The sky was dull gray, with only the smallest glimpse of sunlight peeking through the clouds.

A network of stone bridges, archways and caves could be seen in the distance, illuminated by a ghostly blue light.

Strange voices could be heard fading into the air, all in various tongues and clashing voices, whispering into his ears and disappearing as if they never existed.

"Where am I?", Shirou asked aloud.

This clearly wasn't in Fuyuki, as the burning city was replaced with an unnatural land of drifting sand.

What he didn't expect was that someone would actually respond to his question.

"THOU ARE IN A PLACE THAT EXISTS EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE. IT LINGER'S AT THE EDGES OF THE WORLD, AT THE CORNER OF EVERY SHADOW, AT THE FEAR IN ALL MEN, YET NO LIVING CREATURE COULD ENTER... NONE BESIDES ME, AND NOW YOU."

Shirou quickly turned around, eager to question the man about his vague statement, yet froze when he saw the man's appearance.

A tall figure stood in front of him, wearing a black cloak and hood that covered most of his body. The man's armored hands grasped onto the pommel of a very huge sword. His face was covered with the mask of a skull, two horns protruding from his hood. Fiery blue eyes stared back into Shirou's with an inhuman gaze.

A silence rang between them, as Shirou slowly registered the man's appearance. Yet the man seemed unphased and continued on regardless.

The man, no, monster, gestured at the environment around them with a spiked gauntlet, continuing on from his previous explanation.

"THIS IS A PLACE SEPERATED FROM THE WORLD AND GAIA. IT HAS EXISTED LONG BEFORE IT AND WILL EXIST LONG AFTER ALL LIFE HAS RETURNED TO DUST. THIS IS THE PLACE THAT ALL MEN FEAR, AND ONLY A FEW DARES TREAD IT'S PATH. TO ME AND YOU HOWEVER, IT IS A PLACE OF UNDERSTANDING AND ONE SUITED TO OUR OWN NATURES. IT GOES BY MANY NAMES, BUT TO US, IT IS THE MOUNTAIN ABYSS, THE TRANQUIL VALLEY IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH".