From Mortal To Divinity

Author's Note: It's been brought to my attention that his stats should be higher, so I've revised them and the new ones are at the end of the chapter. Also I'm still finalising their servant character sheets so if you have ideas I'm still taking them.

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Dun Scaith, also known as The Land of Shadows, home of Scathach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Witch of Dun Scaith, Lord of Spirits. For a land of the dead, it is not so bad, at least in comparison to Tartarus. Unlike Tartarus' flat ground made of broken glass, the land itself is very mountainous and rocky, dark clouds cover the sky, plunging the land into perpetual darkness. Contributing to the land's already low visibility is the everlasting dark mist that makes it seem as if the realm is steeped in shadows. All in all it is pleasant in comparison to Tartarus. The air is not actively trying to poison me, nor is it causing blisters to grow on my skin, and forcing me to enshroud myself in the flames of a river of fire just to heal.

That however is where the majority of differences stop. Similar to Tartarus, the land is full of the roaming dead. From warriors to monsters, they are everywhere and won't hesitate to assault those that don't belong here. So far I've been attacked multiple times, none of them truly posing a threat however and were made quick work of only to respawn, for lack of a better term, somewhere else in Dun Scaith.

Shaking my head from the idle thoughts I look up the mountain towards my destination, Scathach's castle. I've decided that since this is the place where I appeared, I might as well get training from one of the best warriors in the nasuverse. It's also why I chose Scatty2Hatty, for the training from hell. The second reason is because if I have to pick a companion I'd rather it be her instead of the more famous heroes like Cu or Diarmuid. Cu is a battle maniac, there is no way I would pick him as a companion, he'll be a walking trouble maker. Especially when I go to places like Marvel or DC. He is the type man who will look for Themyscira and piss them off just to have a good fight.

As for Diarmuid, that man is too honorable. That's the same reason why Artoria and every single one of her knights is a no for me. I am a man who has used underhanded tactics like poison and deception to achieve my goal, while we might be able to get along as people, as warriors we would clash far too much.

Making my way up the mountain, I begin to feel as if I am being observed. Which leads me to believe that I have drawn the attention of the ruler of this realm. It's the most logical conclusion since every dead being that has attacked me so far never bothered being subtle.

As I lift my foot to take another step, my senses scream at me to move. Without questioning it, I leap backwards just in time to avoid something crashing where I previously stood. Without a second thought, I conjure a spear of the same design as my valyrian steel spear, except I change the material to imperial gold.

"Well, what do we have here? A somewhat skilled warrior perhaps?" says a feminine voice as the dust clears and the mist parts.

Standing before me is the Queen of the Land of Shadows, Witch of Dun Scaith, Lord of Spirits herself Scathach. Scáthach is an extremely beautiful woman. Standing at five feet five inches, she has long purple hair and red eyes. She wears a full-body outfit that highlights her curvaceous body, with metallic shoulder pads, and seemingly protective gear underneath the body suit. On her head, she wears a black veil, and short cloak over her shoulders, connected by the shoulder pads. In her right hand she holds Gae Bolg.

Looking the spear in her hand over, I immediately know everything about it. From the material, the history, even how she uses it, I know it all.

With a smirk on my face I dissolve my previous spear and conjure Gae Bolg into my hands in a similar fashion to EMIYA's tracing. Unlike EMIYA however, my spear is not a copy, it is a genuine article and will never break or dissolve without my say so.

Seeing my action, Scathach quirks an eyebrow before taking her stance, which I copy. Without saying a word she launches herself at me.

The opening move is stab. I parry her spear downward and retaliate with a stab of my own to her face. She calmly tilts her head to the right and dodges. She brings her spear back up for a slash, but I dodge and respond with a slash of my own to her arm holding the spear. She blocks and twirls her spear, parrying my spear to the right and leaving me open to her upcoming stab. Borrowing a move from Souichirou Kuzuki, I catch the spear tip between my knee and elbow. Once the spear is caught and seeing her somewhat dumbfounded expression, I quickly let it go and crouch to try and sweep her feet out from under her, only for her to leap backwards and dodge.

With a frown on my face I stand up. To be completely honest while it may seem that we were even during this small exchange, the truth of the matter is that she was severely holding back, not only in skills but also physically. She only used the basics and never even once used any of the more advanced techniques I read in her spear. What unnerves me the most however is that she's also physically much better than me. If she was to decide to stop holding back even a little bit, I wouldn't be able to fight back unless I stopped holding back completely. Even then I would still be outmatched in pure skill alone, not even being able to slow down my perception and reading her next move would help me. It would be like having the sharingan but not having the physical speed to make advantage of it, and all of that is without bringing her magic into the equation.

Throughout my travels I learned the spear from Oberyn Martell himself, Lupa, and the Roman Legion, and that is the problem. Oberyn's fighting style is honestly far too inefficient to be used against beings above peak human, Lupa only focused on perfecting the basics, and the Legion's style is for legionnaires to use together and overwhelm the enemy. So in all honesty all I have to use against her would be the basics, which would be useless against her who, not only has mastered them, but also taken them beyond. As for copying her style, well I'm not trained enough for that.

Making a judgement call, I dissolve my spear.

"I yield." I tell her.

"It is wise to acknowledge when one is outmatched." she says with a nod. "Follow me."

Obeying I make my way next to her and follow.

"So tell me, warrior, where do you hail from. You certainly are not from Erin with that complexion." she says as we begin to walk towards her castle.

"You are correct, I am not from Erin. I am in fact Roman." I reply

"Interesting. Though I had judged that your spearmanship is Roman inspired, I did not expect you to be Roman. It has been awhile since a Roman has come this far. However I know that there is much more to you than you let on. You are not a common Roman soldier. If I had to hazard a guess I would say that you are the son of the Roman Emperor, whoever he may currently be." she says.

"My name is Ambrosius, and no I am not the son of a Roman Emperor, current or otherwise.I don't even know who the current Roman Monarch is. Also, how do you know so much about Rome. Erin is pretty far from there." I reply.

"There was a time where I traveled. Rome was as far as I went. It is also where I heard the legend of a man named Ambrosius, who is revered so much that naming your child such is sacrilege. So tell me warrior, which of your parents committed such an offense." she says as she stops walking.

Without knowing why, I leap away from her and summon my trident, my heart beating like a drum, and my breathing erratic as the feeling of my death permeates my very being.

"I thought so." she says as she looks at my trident. "You are him. According to the legend, after slaying the Carthaginian Serpent, the titans Perses, Atlas, and Kronos himself, he plunged into Tartarus to stop a rising threat, and died there after accomplishing his task."

"What?" I can't help but ask.

Slowly the feelings of dread leave me, and I no longer feel as if I am dying over and over. However, I don't move from my position. The way she went from calm to blasting bloodl.u.s.t at me still unnerves.

"There's no need to feel alarmed." she says. "I simply wanted to verify something."

Seeing that I will not budge she explains.

"You see when I first laid eyes on you I knew that you were not from around here. You also have the aura of a demigod, and one that only a slayer of divine beings would possess, trust me I know. Our battle taught me that you learned most of your techniques from Rome while the rest was through your extensive experience in battle, paired with your familiar armor and name, and that only left one thing to check. Whether you had the trident or not." she explains.

"And you believed that the best way to find out is by making me feel as if I was about to die by completely submerging me in bloodl.u.s.t." I finish for her.

"Of course, for it is when one feels their death coming that they reveal all their cards." she says with a nod. "So now that I have explained myself, tell me what the first praetor of Rome is doing roaming my realm."

"I did not plan to arrive here. After completing my task in Tartarus I wandered that hellish realm for an unknown amount of time. Eventually I found a previously untravelled path that led me here. Now that I have answered your question, may I learn the name of my host?" I ask as I return my trident into a ring and approach her.

"You may call me Scathach, and this land which I watch over is called Dun Scaith, the Land of Shadows. As for how you ended up here, I would not lose any sleep over it were I you. For even I, the ruler of this realm, do not know everything about it." she says as she begins to walk towards her castle.

"Now tell me. What do you plan to do now?" she asks.

"Originally I had none. Now though I would love it if you would be willing to train me." I answer.

"To train such a distinguished warrior like yourself, will be interesting." she answers as we arrive at her castle.

Like the land it resides in, the castle is enshrouded in dark mist and looks haunted, and abandoned. It has ten thin, square towers that are low, but set firm and strong for a great defensive line and are connected by enormous, narrow walls made of sandstone. It has tall, wide windows scattered generously across the walls in an asymmetric pattern, along with asymmetric crenelations for archers and artillery. A vast gate with enormous metal doors, a drawbridge and large crenelations suggest that it once offered a safe home to all those in need in these cold and dark mountains, and it's also the only easy way in, any other side would be futile. Small buildings, houses and other structures populate the grounds outside the castle walls, homes for the poorest of the poor. While this castle has stood the test of time, it has not stood it well, as cracks can be seen everywhere and many of the structures are broken.

Walking in, Scathach leads us to a dining room that is surprisingly well kept and furnished. She sits down at the head and gestures for me to sit next to her.

"We will begin your training tomorrow. Now is there anything you wish to ask?" she says.

"Yes." I say. "You said that you heard a legend about me. I would like to hear it."

"Very well." she says before she begins to explain. "According to legend, your story begins with Apollo receiving a vision of a dark future inbound for the world, but more specifically Olympus. Not willing to let such a fate occur, the god of Olympus, who now adhered to the Roman belief of them, decided to conceive two mortal beings that shall act as their instruments in the mortal world and stop the coming threat. The first being was a human male with the blood of Neptune and Bellona, and conceived by a demigod child of Apollo. He was to act as the general and prepare Rome's army. The second being was a human female with the blood of Jupiter and Venus, and conceived by a different demigod child of Apollo. She was to be the next monarch, and lead the Roman people through the incoming trials."

"That is surprisingly very accurate." I say as she pauses.

"They were raised by Lupa herself for ten years before going their separate ways. The boy went to Atlantis where he was trained by his brother, Triden, in the use of his powers as a son of Neptune. At the age of eleven he returned to Rome and joined the army, quickly making his way through the ranks, and becoming the leader by the age of twelve. He spent four years building the Roman Legion into such a sufficient and powerful army that it was still the strongest military force the last time I was outside of these lands. By the age of sixteen he had led the Legion to kill so many hordes of monsters that the remaining went into hiding in fear. It is at this time that the woman returned and took over as the new monarch. From then, the two friends led Rome as times became darker and monsters started to invade the land. According to legend he was a monster killer and army destroyer, capable of single handedly decimating armies of monsters by himself and coming out with nary a scratch. At the age of nineteen the true threat made itself known, the Titans had escaped Tartarus and were coming back for revenge. The war was short but brutal. While the Romans were outmatched due to being human, they suffered minimal casualties due to their tactics and Ambrosius and Augusta personally taking to the field to demolish the enemy army. Eventually only the Titans remained, but they too fell. Augusta defeated Koios and Krios, while Ambrosius defeated Atlas, Perses, and Kronos himself. With the war over, peace returned to Rome and the world. Unfortunately it was short lived, and Ambrosius had to personally breach Tartarus to stop another rising threat, where he died after completing his task."

"Well. That was interesting." I say as she finishes. ROB and I are going to have words the next time we see each other. I don't know what's worse the fact that this legend exists, or the fact that he might have rewritten history so that it actually happened.

"Naturally this was an overview of the whole story, as there are more details that I did not mention and to do so would be time consuming." she says, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Are you not interested in hearing the tale from the very source?" I ask.

"I am interested. However, there shall be ample time for you to tell it later. Now you must rest for your training begins tomorrow." she says with a wolfish grin that sends a chill down my spine.

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Name: Ambrosius Malphas

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Height: 5'8

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Gold

Looks: Ozymandias from Fate

Build: Medium

Body Type: Athlete

Stats (Without Enhancements)

Strength: D+

Endurance: C+

Agility: C+

Magic Circuits: 50

Luck: D