It was dark.
But the darkness wasn't normal. It was not natural. With the darkness came silence. If one listened, they can hear…nothing. No people, no wind, not even the noise of the smallest creature could be heard in this darkness. Whatever living had there been, whatever life there was in the world, was gone.
But Saber didn't care at all. As she walked, the only sound that can be heard for miles was that of her black greaves crushing whatever was underneath it. The place she wandered now, was the ruins of Fuyuki City.
How long had it been since she had taken the "Holy" Grail for her dark master, Sakura? How long had it been since, in her victory, Sakura had used the Grail to amplify the Shadow's powers and corrupted the world?
In her musings, she bumped into a figure. The figure whirled around and snarled, only to be cut in half by Saber's sword. Even in this darkness, the haunting light of the corrupted Excalibur briefly lit the area, showing Saber what was left of the city.
Decay had taken to the once tall skyscrapers of Fuyuki City. The ground beneath her was dead, barren of any life. As for the inhabitants…
With the Shadow's amplified powers, a wave of darkness encompassed the world. But instead of just destroying everything like a certain Gold King would have done, it had done something…worse.
As Excalibur's light faded, the figures of humans swaying in place faded back into the darkness. No, the inhabitants of the world didn't die. When the Shadow's wave engulfed the world, it corrupted every single being on it. However, unlike with Saber, Sakura felt she had no use for anyone else.
Instead, they became shadows of themselves. No self awareness, no conscience at all. What was left was a shell filled with the darkest emotions of humanity. Animals didn't survive the wave, unable to handle such hate. Neither did plants. As nature was granted an instant death, humanity was left to a fate far worse.
Saber moved along, the zombie like humans unconsciously moving out of her way. Wandering the city she was all too familiar with, Saber found herself at her destination.
The home of the late Emiya Shirou looked like any other building, in a state of long decay. The doors to the estate were gone, having long been torn down when an irritated Saber returned to this place...50 years ago? 100? It did not matter.
As Saber made her way through the estate, a sound reached her ears, making her stop to listen. Though not too far away, the sound of crying could be heard a few doors down. Saber stifled a sigh from breaking through her, and she walked to the room where the sound originated. Without a break in step, she opened the door.
An idle memory hit her, one where the room before her was a table where laughter came from a red haired teenage boy, giggles from a purple haired girl, silence from a blonde who was too busy eating, and sobbing from a woman with brown hair as she looked into an empty bowl. The picture was that of a happy, though a little unusual, family.
Just as the memory came, it soon left. The table was there, and at it was a girl with silver hair that came down to her shoulders. Instead of regular clothes, a darkness that outmatched that that holds the world clung to her body, showing off curves to whoever noticed. The girl was hunched over, her tears hitting an object in her hands.
The object was a photo. In it, the red haired teenage boy from her memory was smiling into the camera as he was standing next to the purple haired girl, who looked uncomfortable being so close to the tall male, but smiling nonetheless.
Saber fought the urge to sit next to Sakura. Earlier that day, while she was on the other side of the world, she felt a shift in her master's thinking pattern. Worried for her, Saber made her way back to Fuyuki city (via jumping through shadows since walking would have taken too long).
For the past 100 or so years, Sakura's mental state had been like a chaotic storm. Fits of rage became sobs of a tortured soul in seconds. Saber knew what was happening. The old Sakura was fighting. Though 300 years too late (or was it 400?), the horror of what had been wrought had plagued whatever remains of the old Sakura to the point where she somehow found a way to overcome her Shadow.
Saber, who could not do anything, was only forced to watch as Sakura relapses into her old self every so often, and then return to her Shadow state of mind. However, as of late, the old Sakura seems to be winning more.
The scene before her was proof of that. As she watched, the old Sakura cried over the picture from her past. A past that she tried to fight but lost to. With nothing left in the world, whenever the old Sakura gained control of her body, she always tried to kill herself. This always failed though, as her regenerative powers never let her die. Whenever this happened, Sakura would resign herself to mourning over her sins.
Without anything else to do, Saber sat across from Sakura. Sakura flinched too caught up in her mourning that she was unaware of Saber's arrival.
"Hello Sakura." Saber said, her voice in an uncharacteristic doting tone. After spending 400 years (pretty sure by now) with no one but mindless zombies and Sakura, it would be natural for anyone to grow fond of the only other coherent person in existence.
A soft smile appeared on Sakura's face, though it clashed very much with the tear stains. Though initially disgusted Saber when she first retook control of her body, she grew to appreciate her company whenever Saber came around.
"Hi S-Saber." Sakura said, her voice choked a little from crying. She quickly looked down, in order to turn away from Saber's cold eyes. Though they had grown fond of each other during the last few decades, the corruption of Saber's body and soul left for some traits that could never be changed.
Silence reined over the kitchen for a few minutes, during which Saber observed Sakura. Since the old Sakura had started to win back her body, some changes started to take place as well. Whenever she took hold of her body again, her normally red eyes would sometimes revert back to the light purple they were long ago. Sometimes, when she took control for a long time (longest being 3 days), her hair would show purple roots in them.
Saber's musings were broken as she heard Sakura speak. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that." Saber said.
A bit of a blush came to Sakura's face and she looked down. She mumbled something incoherent, and Saber couldn't understand it, no matter how much she tried.
"Try again." Saber said and waited. In her previous life, she might not have tolerated such a thing, but now she knew that her anger would do nothing but probably make things worse.
Sakura whispered again, but this time Saber heard it. "I want you to kill me." she had said, and Saber again fought the urge to sigh. When she found out that normal means would not kill her, Sakura sought out the only supernatural thing left in the world that could probably fulfill her wish.
Of course, Saber had refused. Though the Shadow's corruption had wiped away most of her humanity, what was left had centuries to build itself back up within her. And in that 400 years, what was once Saber's own sense of self had fought the corruption to the point that her emotions would not let her kill the only thing she had left in the world, even if it was an order.
"You know I won't do that Sakura." Saber patiently said. Sakura had tried time and time again to end her own existence through Saber, but the latter had fought it long enough.
A sad look passed through Sakura's face and stayed like that for minutes. What happened next would forever remain in Saber's memory.
The look on Sakura's face faded, and a new one took its place. This one was foreign and familiar at the same time. Foreign in that Saber did not recall seeing the look before, yet familiar as some part deep inside her said that the look was indeed familiar…and dangerous.
"I need you to kill me." Sakura said, her voice full of determination as she emphasized the word need.
Saber felt herself flinch on the inside. Sakura had never taken this tone of voice with her before. Again, there was a tugging in her brain that said that this should be familiar.
"I refuse." Saber said, her voice going back to its normal cold tone. Her body began to shake as the Shadow within herself demanded that she obey her mistress.
Sakura stood up and looked straight into Saber's eyes. In that moment, another memory triggered. This one, a long time ago, was one where a purple haired Sakura had the same look on her face as she passed a shocked Rin and Shirou and made her way to the kitchen.
"KILL ME!" Sakura yelled and Saber's senses flared with pain as her body moved on its own accord. Excalibur flashed into existence and started to glow.
Her body stood up. As much as she fought, she could not stop herself from charging her Noble Phantasm. Trapped in her own mind, Saber watched and felt as Sakura poured all of her mana into Saber in order to empower her attack.
'No! No! No!' Saber screamed into her head as she continued to struggle. But all for naught. As much as she fought, as much as she struggled, she could not stop herself.
She felt her arms lift above her head, her hands gripping tightly on her weapon. Dark Excalibur was brimming with so much power that the building around them shook.
"Ex-"Saber's voice came from her own mouth through Sakura's order in an almost mechanical tone. "Calibur!"
The last image Saber saw of Sakura was her just sitting there, a look of peace on her as the attack hit her head on.
The explosion that followed rocked Saber's body as every inch of her being cried out in pain. She felt herself fall as the toll of letting loose such a high powered blast left her without the ability to move.
When the pain had subsided enough to become bearable, Saber opened her eyes. She was on her back, looking up into the sky. Still unable to move, she laid there and cried as she tried to feel for the presence of her master. She found nothing.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
'How long has it been?' Saber thought to herself as she still lay in the position she was in 4 days ago. Without her master to sustain her, Saber felt herself slipping from the world. Unable and unwilling to move, Saber had resigned herself to just laying on the ground until she faded away.
As she felt her body fade, Saber saw something in the corner of her eye. There, in the sky, a single star illuminated the night. After 400 years of the world being shrouded in darkness, the first star to appear in that time came to be on the night of Saber's death. Struggling to, Saber moved her right hand up and reached for the star.
'I wish…that I could stop all this.' She thought to herself. 'Please, if there was any way, I wish that I could stop the horror that I had helped cause.' Saber wished with all her being.
And with that, she faded back into the world.