Sajou, Ayaka
Summary
Ayaka represents the archetype version of Shirou Emiya, who was intended to be the protagonist of the original Fate/stay night novel that remained unfinished. She possessed an insecure personality and held a negative view of herself. Unlike her older sister Manaka, who was considered a magecraft genius, Ayaka had only mediocre skills, leading to an inferiority complex. Born into a lineage of magi, she was aware of the impending Holy Grail War and her expected participation in it, contrasting with Shirou, who was orphaned and largely ignorant of the magecraft world. However, she refused to join the War due to the deaths of both her father and sister in the previous conflict. Similar to Shirou, she eventually entered the War and summoned Saber, a male archetype of Fate/stay night's Saber, to save herself from Lancer's killing blow. During the War, Archer, an archetype of Gilgamesh, took an interest in her and proposed to her, viewing Saber as his rival. Ayaka later lost Saber to Sancraid Phahn, the Master of Berserker. Lancer, having lost his Master to a curse, formed a contract with Ayaka to rescue Saber. Ayaka was poisoned, and Archer taunted Saber with the cure, resulting in a climactic battle between the two. Since the story was left incomplete to be rewritten as Fate/stay night, Lancer's fate remains unknown. The outcome of her inevitable encounter with her resurrected sister Manaka, the 1st Master of the War and Master of the Beast, is also unexplained. While not as obsessive as her sister, Ayaka views Saber as her Prince and ideal protector. She makes a cameo appearance in Fate/school life as an ordinary student at Shirou's school.
