Chapter 4: Karna, The Little Sun
Light began to glow in the center of the drawn magical array.
"Your body shall be placed under my command; my fate shall be with your sword."
All the magical energy in Shirou's body surged at this moment, and a whirlwind enveloped his body.
"In accordance with the call of the Holy Grail, if you obey this will and reason, answer me!"
Shirou's heart, in a dimension separate from his personal will, began to beat rapidly, like a frantic bell.
Countless deaths seemed to have broken a nerve in his head; at this moment, he was surprisingly thrilled by the approaching mystery and madness.
"I am the one who accomplishes all good deeds in the world; I am the one who is the sum total of all evil in the world!"
His heart was unprecedentedly hot, as if a ball of fire was burning within.
"Come forth, guardian of the balance, crossing the wheel of restraint, and be bound by the seven heavens of the great Words of Power!"
Concluding the invocation with this phrase, Shirou felt the magical energy in his body surging wildly.
Boom---!
Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the clouds churned.
In the wind pressure that made it impossible to even open one's eyes, the pattern of the magic array shone with brilliant light.
Finally, the circuit from the magic array connected to the Throne of Heroes, and from the continuously emerging dazzling light, the Heroic Spirit appeared in this world.
"Are you my Master?"
The light faded, and a rather clear voice came from within the magic array.
Amidst the flickering light and shadow, the figure of a man clad in exquisite golden armor revealed itself.
He exuded a strong presence almost constantly; no one could ever ignore him.
He possessed pale skin, wore a black bodysuit, covered by armor that looked as if it were cast from gold, with a golden sun ring floating above each shoulder.
A large amount of scarlet feather-down was attached to the sun rings, making him look at first glance as if he were wearing a large crimson cloak.
His free-flowing long hair maintained a transparent, pure white color, giving an immaculate impression.
Having seemingly gone through many battles, his gaze was as sharp as a blade, but when he looked at Shirou, it softened.
The red stone embedded in his chest also complemented the light, brewing a lustrous and enchanting color.
But the most striking thing was the golden armor that seemed to be integrated with his body rather than just wrapped around it, radiating divine light.
The armor, combined with the man's handsome face, gave a feeling of something beyond beauty.
Shirou's pupils contracted slightly, looking with some surprise at the Lancer bowing before him.
"Karna...?"
Shirou couldn't help but be astonished.
After all, he never expected that he could summon this legendary Hero of Charity, Karna, the Son of the Sun, without using any Sacred Relic at all.
Shirou naturally knew his identity; how could someone who had watched most of the Fate anime not know the great name of the "Little Sun"!
"Little Sun" Karna was undoubtedly one of the best-natured types among the Servants.
He accepted all matters as "possible" existences, making him an extremely tolerant Servant.
Despite being the son of the Sun God Surya, Karna lived a life full of misfortune, yet he personally did not mind it at all.
Karna generously bestowed everything he had upon others, even if it left him with nothing.
All the unfair treatments and cruel abuses were nothing to him; he never resented them, as if those events never touched his heart in the slightest.
Such a Karna was a truly noble hero, one whom even the great hero Arjuna would feel jealousy toward.
He treated all people equally and, at the same time, respected the "distinct beauty" in everyone's eyes.
In his view, no matter how ordinary a human being was, even if the seeds of evil might sprout in their heart, as long as they could turn back from their path, they could still transform into sacred flowers.
No matter what the situation, no matter how unbelievable, Karna could accept it with equanimity.
Although he struggled to gain recognition due to many prejudices, Karna's martial power and noble personality absolutely placed him among the top-tier of all Servants in terms of rank.
Moreover, for Shirou, it was a heaven-sent piece of luck that an Heroic Spirit like Karna, who was good-tempered and powerful in combat, was summoned by him.
Could his own Luck rank be EX?
Of course, this was also because Shirou had sufficient knowledge of Karna to think this way.
If other mages who did not know him well were to summon him, they would inevitably be disliked due to Karna's eyes, which could see through a person's nature, and his forthright way of speaking.
Humans are two-sided: people who hold good intentions sometimes generate evil thoughts, even if they are the smallest of evil thoughts, and people who hold evil intentions sometimes generate good thoughts, even if they are minuscule good thoughts.
And when Karna directly voiced these inner thoughts, those people would become enraged and unreasonable, even resorting to verbally slandering Karna.
He was an unparalleled loyal-dog type of Servant, but because of his ineloquent mouth, he was disliked not just by enemies, but even by his Masters.
"So, Master, you already know who I am. It seems a self-introduction is unnecessary."
Karna felt a little happy that he was so easily recognized even in this later era.
"Of course, Hero of Charity, your legend is known by many even in this modern era," Shirou replied.
"Hero of Charity, huh... Some people have called me that, but it's not entirely correct. I merely acted according to my own path of righteousness," Karna gently shook his head.
As he spoke, Shirou's gaze was drawn to the golden spear in Karna's hand.
Karna, who flowed with golden light, held a golden spear in his hand.
The length of this item far exceeded Karna's height, so tall that it was hard to imagine it was a weapon used by a person. Its intricate craftsmanship and design were an absolute work of art.
This was the Noble Phantasm bestowed upon him by Indra: Indestructible Spear (Brahmastra)!
During the final battle of the Mahabharata, Indra, the 'God of Thunder,' feared that Arjuna would die on the battlefield, so he disguised himself as a beggar and asked Karna for his innate Golden Armor.
Karna actually recognized Indra's identity, but still granted the request, giving him the Golden Armor.
Indra was moved by Karna's nobility and presented him with a divine spear. That was the origin of the God-Slaying Spear, O Sun, Obey Death (Vasavi Shakti).
The legends concerning Karna flashed one by one in Shirou's mind. Shirou looked at Karna's clear eyes and said earnestly.
"Karna, my name is Orihara Shirou. I am your Master in this present world. I promise you that when we jointly defeat the other enemies, I will share the joy of victory with you."
Hearing Shirou's words, Karna slightly lowered his figure again, responding with respect.
"I hereby promise that as long as I draw breath, I will protect you always.
With this, the contract is established."