Prologue: Technicality
"This offer of employment sounds too good to be true, Lord Einzbern."
"Please, call me Acht."
"Acht, then. I've heard about the Grail War and from what I've gathered it sounds brutal and complicated."
"I imagine you don't have a problem with brutal. And complicated seems to be your area of expertise. Your... resume suggests this to be so, unless of course, I am gravely mistaken."
"You're not. I don't care for scruples and honor in my work. To me, killing is killing and war is war. But I run into problems once my employers realize how I accomplish their ends. I didn't acquire my reputation because the Mage Association and the Church approve of my methods. I need to know you wouldn't have the same problems."
"I sense a kindred spirit in you, Emiya Kiritsugu. Like you, I'm after the end, not the means. Do you imagine I didn't have my people look into you before I decided to hire you? It's precisely because of what you do that I bothered to make the contact at all."
"So, you don't plan on interfering with my strategy?"
"None whatsoever. My part ends where yours begin."
"Very well. The terms of the contract, my lord?"
"Like I said, I will not interfere with your plans, but I do demand to be informed of them. The family's resources are at your full disposal. Use them as you will. The summoning relic... is on its way. I have begun the excavations in Cornwall for the scabbard of King Arthur's sword, the Excalibur. It might take several years, but I believe we have finally found the real one. If we're successful, you will be able to summon the most powerful Saber-class servant imaginable. That should be of great help.
In return, you will fight the battle in the name of the Einzbern family. You will be our employee for a span of ten years no less. Your activities will be confined to planning, strategizing and training for the Grail War and protecting the Grail Vessel. You will live here in Castle Einzbern in a separate wing where no one will disturb you and will not take any other contract or complete any other job except those which I ask you.
Once you have obtained the Grail, you are allowed one wish. That wish is entirely your discretion, a little gift for services rendered. But you must bring the Grail back here to Castle Einzbern at once.
In addition to this, you will be properly compensated at any price you name... Until you deem it unnecessary."
"Compensation is always necessary."
"I agree... But I hardly think it is proper for a son to ask his father for a salary. Although, I understand this has been done before."
"I do not follow."
"You mentioned earlier that the contract sounds too good to be true. It was. I haven't mentioned that this contract entails your marriage into the family."
"Marriage? That's a little too dramatic, don't you think?"
"Think of it what you will, Master Emiya. But to us, only an Einzbern can bring the family honor. Unless you marry into the family, we cannot consider your achievement ours."
"Uh..."
"Come now, you don't actually think so high of marriage that you will forgo this chance at saving the world, do you? Why, that would be practically amusing."
"But, you have no children."
"Children are easy to come by for Einzberns. We have been coining our own for ages. As a matter of fact, I do have one of these 'children' as you might call it. The Grail Vessel... She is an Einzbern creation, a child of mine. I even gave her a name."
"The Vessel is human?"
"No, not human. A homunculus. A pure-blooded Einzbern. I gave her our ancestor - Justeaze von Einzbern's body and an instinct to protect herself. She is the first of her kind... The first conscious and autonomous Grail Vessel. A great masterpiece. And it is she to whom you will be wed."
"You are asking me to chain myself to a machine?"
"Consider it a temporary incarceration. Since she is the Grail Vessel, she only has nine years to live."
"Nine years to live.. Acht, you must forgive me. I made a mistake. It's not a machine you're asking me to wed, after all. It's a woman designed to die after your purpose has been fulfilled... A mere tool! How is that any improvement?"
"Calm yourself, Master Emiya. I didn't ask you to treat her like a human being much less a wife. Do what you will with her just as long as it does not endanger the Grail. I'm not expecting you to be a real couple. This is all just... technicality."
Lord Einzbern - Lord Father Acht or Old Man Acht as he was more commonly known - led Kiritsugu down a series of confusing hallways into the very heart of the Einzbern workshop. Any mage with even the minutest interest in the Art of Alchemy would have been beyond himself with joy just to walk these hallowed, ostentatious halls, but Kiritsugu was not of their number.
He knew of the skill of the Einzbern mages. It was no great secret that they have mastered Alchemy to the point of being able to create their own family members. But, their magic was as useless in combat as a toothpick was in moving a boulder . Therefore, he could only admire it, but not value it.
Old Man Acht walked on, saying nothing and showing nothing that would indicate his age. In him was a disturbing kind of cold tenacity absent in any of the other Einzbern elders. He wondered if all Einzberns were this way... if Acht would have created a homunculus with the same kind of determination, intelligence and impartiality. That would be of great use to him in the Grail War. It would not matter if it could think on its own.
Would it?
And yet... and yet, and yet, and yet...
It was disturbing that the Einzbern Family Head would be so willing to sacrifice one of his own creations - the best one so far - for the sake of the Grail War. If Acht was to be taken at his word, this Grail Vessel would be the perfect Einzbern. It would be more powerful than any of them.
It would also be conscious. Able to think. Able to feel. Able to decide.
A 'machine' as intricate as that would no longer be a tool. It would be human.
How does Acht expect him bear the sacrifice off this "thing", knowing that he will be depriving an autonomous being the choice to live its own life?, into its death? Did he not crave that same liberty for himself?
For years, he led a life that was not his choosing. He was a victim of his own ideals. Even if he tried, he would not be able to truly escape them. But this creature, was no such thing. Though given a purpose, it had the ability to choose not to fulfill it. Could he deprive it of this freedom the way fate deprived him his?
He became so engrossed in these painful ruminations he almost walked into the Old Man. Acht had stopped in front of a large door wrought in some unfamiliar enhanced steel. Immediately, Kiritsugu sensed his magic circuits being curbed, not enough to nullify it, but enough to make it somewhat harmless.
"Beyond these fortified doors," Acht explained, his words dramatically echoing through the hall. "All magic would be contained, unable to wreck havoc to on-going experiments. You might feel a bit differently once you step inside."
Kiritsugu smirked.
"If you could create substance such as this, why could you not create an armor or a weapon that would do the same thing? If you do so, you might not actually need me."
"This same metal emits energy proportionate to the amount of it used, Master Emiya. Small quantities can only emit a small amount of interference... so small it is negligible. I believe we have exhausted its potential."
Acht turned back to the doors and opened them with a series of complicated hand gestures and incantations. Then, he addressed Kiritsugu once more.
"I will remind you not to touch anything. All experiments in this laboratory must not be tainted by the hands of any other mage but those of the Family, otherwise they will have to be discarded."
Kiritsugu knew what the old man meant: Paws off the merchandize, you dirty mongrel.
He snorted, feeling just a bit offended. It should not bother him what this man thought, but it did. Acht valued pure bloodlines over actual usefulness. If he valued it less, maybe they would have stood a chance in battle long ago.
He was led past tables of suspicious vials and bubbling potions. Precious metals only half converted to Einzbern gold. Unnatural beasts still in their early gestational stages suspended in amniotic fluid. The workshop was clearly an active site. Yet, no other member of the family was present. No doubt they wanted to keep their craft a secret.
No outsider was permitted to see an Einzbern Mage work.
They came to another bolted door at the end of the room. And again, Acht performed a series of hand gestures and incantations possibly even more complicated than the last one. When the doors swung silently forward, Acht motioned for Kiritsugu to go before him.
Kiritsugu did so, taking in the sordid content of Old Man Acht's workshop.
In larger tanks filled with even more amniotic fluid were suspended bodies, eerily possessing the same fair porcelain skin and silver hair.
Homunculi. Future generations of the Einzbern family.
Their eyes were closed and their bodies were curled into fetal position. They were all full grown. Some male, some female. And under their skins glowed faint magical runes that were still unfinished. All the members of Acht's family, with the exception of Acht and only some of the Elders, started out like this. These homunculi are immortal, more artificial intelligence than human. They will not need the life extenders Acht does.
Kiritsugu's eyes traveled from the golden tanks to the center of the room where a large open tub sat. He could hear soft bubbling from it, like a fish tank with its own respirator. He stepped tentatively toward it, knowing that it contained the homunculus Grail Vessel Acht spoke about in length and fearing what he would see.
"Well, go on," the Old Man intoned behind him. "It is still sedated. It should not be so dangerous."
Kiritsugu took another step forward, and another, and another until he stood right beside the tub. He peered over the rim.
He felt gutted.
The Grail Vessel was beautiful. SHE was INHUMANLY beautiful. She had a small, gentle face punctuated by sharp, high cheekbones and sensual thin lips. Her lashes were long and silver like her hair. Her skin was perfection, her body slender, but with a fullness that made it alluring and effortlessly seductive. And her legs... those legs of marble white went on for days.
Surely... surely this cannot be created by man. Men could not create gods.
"What was the sense in making her this beautiful if you were only going to kill her?" he asked mostly to himself. He was unable to avert his eyes from her stunning face. What would it be like to see those features curl up into a smile? What would her laughter sound like?
Then, as if responding to the sound of his voice, the goddess in the tub opened her eyes and met his gaze.
Kiritsugu felt, for the first time, what it meant for the world to disappeare altogether. Under the power of those deep crimson eyes, he became completely enthralled. In them, he saw the universe, the wisdom of Old Magic and the innocence of a child. He struggled to see her only as a tool, but it was too late. He had seen the life in her. His heart had been won from him even if he did not know it yet.
He could not speak, so he kept his face astute, betraying nothing.
The silver woman rose from her amniotic sustenance and immediately, there were attendants present to cover her perfect body. She kept her gaze straight towards him and Acht... like she saw nothing. But he had seen something akin to a fire in those depths. And a part of him wanted to stoke it, to make this woman fight for herself, to make those hypnotic eyes burn with passion.
If you agree to become her husband...
Acht ordered the servants to clothe her and bring her to the receiving chamber. He stepped in front of Kiritsugu, blocking the view.
"Are we still in agreement, Master Emiya?" he asked, his voice dripping with boastful victory.
"I don't see any reason you should have given her that form," Kiritsugu answered coolly. "It's hardly useful."
"If you are referring to the homunculus' beauty, I can assure you that it was not my particular design. I merely borrowed the body of Justeaze Lizrich Von Einzbern, our ancestor and one of only two mages to ever hold the title 'archmagus'. It is to her that the homunculus owes her extraordinary beauty and of course, power."
He nodded, pretending to understand, when in fact, he did not.
She was too human, too real, too easily desirable. Her form and power might be coincidence, but her presence did not seem that way. He felt so lost, the way a patient waking from an accident would. He had been completely blindsided.
Why did he assume Acht's contract would be simple enough to complete? It had been so easy to agree to the terms when they were only exchanging words. But now that he'd seen her, he was beginning to realize how difficult this arrangement was going to be.
Images of the people he saved flashed across his mind, reminding him how disastrous everything turned out to be when he started to care. His heart burst at any of their smallest joys. And when they cried, he wept with them.
This woman was to be his wife for the next nine years. Could he keep his heart from her, the way he tried to keep his heart from everybody else? If he loved her, it would destroy him... because in the end, she would be the one thing in the world he cannot save.
Kiritsugu's heart pummeled brutally against his chest. It was not too late to turn back now. He could find another way to save the world. A way that would not entail this kind of cruel sacrifice.
The room began to spin, but he forced his mind to stay focused.
One chance. A miracle. To end all the suffering in the world. Is this not your goal? Is this not why you're here? Is this not worth any price?
For a few moments, he kept his eyes shut, mentally separating himself from the travesty that his hands will once more commit. No matter the injustice to this Woman, it would be worth it for the sake of the many. Her oblation will be the world's salvation... and his demise. Finally, he decided. He looked at Acht with dead coldness in his eyes not far from the crystal icicles that formed outside the caslte.
"When are we to marry?"
"As soon as possible, Master Emiya," Acht said with a nod. "But I will extend to you the courtesy of naming the day."
"Good. We marry in three months."
"Three months? Must you wait so long?"
Kiritsugu shrugged.
"I will be a prisoner in this Castle with only that machine as company. I would have her capable of everyday conversation first before becoming her husband."
The Old Man stroked his goatee, considering his proposition. Then, he gave a chilling smile that exposed his perfect, even, white teeth. Kiritsugu was reminded of a snarling wolf.
"Your cold detachment is admirable, Emiya Kiritsugu. I hope it remains that way."
"And why shouldn't it?" Kiritsugu threw back in complete monotone. "Isn't this just - how did you put it? - simply technicality?"
Technicality.
The word echoed repeatedly inside Kiritsugu's head like a blacksmith's hammer hitting metal. It was such a cruel word to ascribe to a wedding, crueler still to ascribe it what he and Iri had.
So much changed within the three months he asked for. She learned so quickly, absorbed what he taught faster than a sponge. He could barely keep up. Some nights, they didn't sleep because Iri kept asking and asking and asking questions like "Where was Japan?" or "What was a car?" or "What happened in the Second World War?" or "Who was Michael Bolton?" or "Did nations choose their leaders based on the length of their facial hair?"
He had enjoyed teaching her so much, he sometimes forgot she was marked for the grave. He allowed himself to become infected with her eagerness and enthusiasm. Then, at some point, they reversed roles. From being the teacher, Kiritsugu became the pupil and he learned just how little he knew of being human.
He was so wrong about life, so wrong in believing it was anger, revenge and justice that kept people fighting. Iri taught him something much simpler. She taught him about love.
The only reason we truly valued anything was because we loved. The reason we got angry or sought revenge and justice was because we loved. The reason we kept bettering ourselves and discovering new things was because we loved. Love was so much more than an emotion that made men weak.
It was the only way people could bear the cruelty and coldness of life.
It was only when his eyes were opened this way that he saw her for what she had become: his entire world. At first, he would not believe it. How was it even possible to have your heart stolen by a woman you barely knew? How could anyone bear to have their entire happiness dependent on only one person?
But, every breath she took was life to him. Every word she uttered was his existence. When she laughed, his soul sang. When she cried, his heart broke into a million pieces. And when they kissed...
When they kissed, there was nothing in the world but him and her. Absolute perfection. Absolute bliss. He could stay in her arms forever and never regret it.
He had realized too late that he had fallen for her hard like a fool. Now, he clung to her as desperately as a drowning man would a wooden plank.
And today?
Today, he will swear himself to her... to be her friend. Her lover. The father of her child. Her husband.
Husband.
A sinful man bound to her body and soul. The title had never felt so heavy until now.
Today, he will become husband to the woman he loved.
The woman he doomed.
It was a farce and they all knew it. But just the same, as he swears to her today so will he do right by her even if it was just for a few years. He will bind himself to this beloved, beautiful woman and give her all the happiness in the world, even if it killed him to try.
Everything will be alright, my love, she said to him one night as he lamented their fate. Everything will be alright.
Right at this moment, he wanted nothing more than to believe her.
Please, he begged. Please, give us this small happiness. Just this once.
The doors opened to let in a silent procession of silver and white people.
His chest constricted.
Please. Just this once, let everything be right in the world.
First were the lesser Einzberns, Apprentices of the Family wearing simple white gowns with no elaborate embroidery. They skulked and worked furiously in the laboratories, trying to perfect that which only years of experience would allow them to perfect. But they were less jaded than their elders and for that, Kiritsugu liked them more.
Then, came the Masters heavily clad in chain links of the famous Einzbern Gold. These men and women spoke very little and were often seen in various ritual chambers, enhancing the products they already made. They wore the burns on their hands as a symbol of their excellence. Too often, they took it as license to be arrogant and condescending. Kiritsugu didn't trust them as far as he could shoot them.
A few paces behind were the Family Elders, the last generation of Einzberns that were brought into this world through natural birth. They wore pristine white robes embroidered heavily with gold, with different colored gems adorning their long, slender fingers. Each gem represented a different area of expertise: emerald for plants, obsidian for metals and amber for minerals. Being a privileged employee of the family, Kiritsugu interacted with them directly. Some - a very select few - were likable. Most of them he just wanted to kill.
Last in this procession was Acht and Irisviel.
Acht wore the same white robes the Elders did, but around his shoulders was a heavy white cloak that fastened around his neck with a diamond link and trailed all the way down to his feet. Only the Family Head had the privilege to wear this, just like the clear-cut diamond ring crested by rubies that adorned his finger. These symbolized his mastery of the Alchemical Arts - including the production of perfect homunculi - and his premium over all other members of the family. Everyone bowed down to his will.
Yet, even this icy majesty seemed mild compared to the bride.
Irisviel wore no veil, nor carried any flower. And instead of donning the elegant, flowing white gown women usually favored on their wedding day, she wore what looked like an impractical, but incredibly artistic body armor.
Over her gown of soft snow white fabric was a metal mesh made of intricately formed Einzbern gold that snaked up her neck but left her shoulders bare. Her skirt was peppered with small eight-pointed stars that clustered closer together as they dropped down her flowing hemline, making her look like she waded in a pool of gold.
It was clear she did not choose her clothes herself.
Yet despite the dazzling and imposing raiment, there was something about her that made her distinctly Irisviel.
Perhaps it was the kindness in her eyes, or the unassuming grace that accompanied her every step, but mostly it was that small secret smile that would be lost to everyone in the room except the man who loved her.
Kiritsugu knew that smile very well. It was the one that always made his heart leap with the knowledge that this incredible, kind and ravishing woman returned his love, the one that chased away all his nightmares with its light.
His eyes caught hers and held. Seeing her so clearly like this, all worry, heartache and anger fled from him: this was their wedding day. This was the day they truly become one.
Acht took his place on the platform. Then, Irisviel took hers beside Kiritsugu. And, together, they knelt in front of their lord and father.
"My children, we have convened here today to witness the voluntary union of these two people: Emiya Kiritsugu, sole heir of the Mage Family Emiya and Irisviel Von Einzbern, daughter of the High-Mage Family Einzbern. As scions of their Great Houses, they are subject to the laws of the Association and the Church. And by these laws, any objection to their union shall deem this ceremony null and void. Are there any in this room who know of any impediment?"
Silence in the Ritual Chambers.
"Very well. Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel Von Einzbern, you have come here of your own freewill to make your hearts and souls one. Do you understand the responsibilities and consequences of this decision?"
In unison, they answered, "Yes, Father, we do."
"Then, rise, children and give testament to your desire."
As they did so, one of the ladies-in-waiting took one of their hands and bound them in a thin, gold chain of alchemical creation. It was pure Einzbern magic. It would work better than any piece of paper in enacting a contract, binding the souls instead of just the magic circuits unlike the traditional Oath Chain magi used. With the Chain in place, Acht proceeded.
"Do you, Emiya Ki-"
He stopped abruptly, raising an eyebrow at Kiritsugu's raised hand.
"Yes, child?"
"If I may, Lord Father, I ask that you let me say my own vows."
"You have them adequately prepared, Master Emiya?" Acht asked with more ice than the outside of his Castle. His words were that of polite inquiry, but his tone warned him not to try to wriggle his way out of their agreement.
"Yes," Kiritsugu answered circumspectly, assuring Acht that he had no such intention. Acht nodded.
"Proceed."
Using his free hand, he cupped Irisviel's cheek. Then, looking earnestly in her eyes so she could never doubt his vow or his love, he spoke the words of the traditional Japanese marriage oath:
"Watakushi wa kono josei to kekkonshi. Fufu to narou to shite imasu. Watakushi wa kenkouna tokimo. Soudenai tokimo. Kono hito o aishi. Kono hito o uyamai. Kono hito o nagusame. Kono hito o tasuke. Watakushi no inochi no kagiri. Kataku sessou o mamoru. Koto o chikai masu."
(This woman, I marry. No matter her health, I will love this person, respect this person, console this person, help this person until death, protecting fidelity. This, I swear.)
At the last word, Kiritsugu pressed his lips on her brow and immediately the gold chain glowed, beginning the binding process of the oath.
The light pervaded Kiritsugu's being until nothing else existed. He felt it take his soul from within him and merge it with something... something not quite human, something that did not quite feel like another soul. In unions between two human magi, this binding would have been stronger, more permanent and more sacred. That was why marriages between mage families were chosen with extreme care.
It was different when a man binds himself to a homunculus. Despite a homunculus's outward appearance and bodily capabilities, no depth of love, devotion or greatness of power could change the fact that it had no soul to be bound. It remains a machine. Kiritsugu had never been more aware of their disparity than right then, but it didn't matter. There was no point in making arbitrary distinctions when his heart was no longer his. Human or machine, he loved Irisviel.
The sensation held for several moments, allowing Kiritsugu to feel all the warmth and the truth of his troth and then, the glow ebbed and he was back in the Chapel once more. Acht looked at him curiously, but made no comment, merely proceeding with the ceremony.
"Emiya Kiritsugu, you have made your vow. May the Lord God, Protector and Redeemer of Souls, aid you in fulfilling your oath."
He turned to Irisviel. In a rare show of paternal knowledge, he did not venture to ask her of her vows. Instead, he gave her a deep, almost respectful nod as if to secretly give her his blessing.
"Ich, Irisviel von Einzbern," she began in a voice so clear and strong, none in the room could doubt her sincerity. "nehmen Sie, Emiya Kiritsugu, mein Freund, mein Geliebter, der Vater von meinem Kind und meinem Mann. Ich will dein sein in der Zeit und in der Zeit der wollen, in Zeiten der Krankheit, und in Zeiten von Gesundheit, in Zeiten der Freude und in Zeiten der Trauer, in Zeiten des Falls und in Zeiten von Triumph. Ich verspreche Ihnen, schätzen und respektieren Sie, bis hin zur Pflege und Schutz, um den Komfort und ermutige euch, und bei ihnen bleiben, für alle Ewigkeit."
(I, Irisviel Von Einzbern, take you, Emiya Kiritsugu, to be my friend, my lover, the father of my child and my husband. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity.)
Upon her last word, she kissed his forehead the same way he did just moments ago. It began with her the same way it did with him. But, the sensation was quickly gone and the Oath Chain glowed even brighter, sending fire coursing through both their bodies. There was nothing gentle nor sentimental in this magical union. Each strand of the Emiya Magic Crest carved in Kiritsugu's being scorched with a white heat as it linked itself with the Einzbern Magic Circuits in Irisviel. He looked at her beyond the blinding glow of the chain, her eyes tightly shut and her teeth clenched against the pain. He could feel her nails bite into his palms like talons and he held onto her, assuring her that everything was going to be alright.
Then, after what seemed to be ages, the pain subsided. Irisviel's grip slackened and they were aware of the thirty pairs of eyes watching them indifferently once more.
"Irisviel Von Einzbern," Acht continued as if nothing happened. "You have pledged your troth. May the Lord God, Protector and Redeemer of Souls, aid you in fulfilling your oath. And now, as you are bound in soul, so you must be bound in body. Master Adalhard bring forth the chalice and Lady Ortraud, the dagger."
A tall Einzbern Master came forward to unbind their hands while an Elder set a chalice of rubies and gold before Acht. To the couple, she presented a similarly decorated dagger.
"As you are bound in soul, so must you be bound in body. To complete this most sacred and unbreakable sacrifice, take this dagger and make an offering in blood."
Kiritsugu took the dagger from the Elder and made a cut on his palm as he spoke the words.
"Only to you, Irisviel von Einzbern, do I offer my heart. You, alone, my body shall serve. This, I swear both now and until the day I leave this earth."
Three drops of blood fell from his open wound to the golden chalice below. He offered the dagger, hilt first, so Irisviel could do the same. When she had sworn her oath, Acht diluted the blood with wine and raised the chalice.
"Lord God, Protector and Redeemer of Souls, Keeper of Oaths, take this offering of blood and wine as a symbol of your children's sacrifice. May You, who see all and hear all, bless their union that it may be peaceful and abundant. Guide your children as they make their journey together. Keep them honest. Keep them true. So, that in everything they do, they might bring You honor and glory."
The chalice was offered first to Kiritsugu who drank from it surreptitiously, knowing well that the act was more symbolic than anything.
Marriages between mages are just as susceptible to infidelity - if not more - as any other marriage despite all the ceremony that came with it. There is no amount of knowledge or unlocked secrets that can make up for the stone cold loneliness that pervaded most unions. Most magi marry to preserve magic circuits and pure bloodlines. His union with an Einzbern should not have been an exception save for the fact that he had fallen hard for Irisviel. And this is made more painfully ironic because it was fated to end with the gravest betrayal of all.
This entire ceremony was the beginning of preparations for war - a farce, a sham. Technicality and nothing more. Every single moment of it was like a shot in the heart, and yet no matter how hard he tried, Kiritsugu could not deny the fact that somewhere deep inside him he was really, truly happy.
After Irisviel has drunk from the chalice, it was taken away along with the ceremonial dagger. Acht then raised his hands to give the final blessing.
"With this act of fidelity and devotion, the ceremony has been completed," he declared in a voice that sounded like thunder. "Now, you shall feel no rain, for in each other is your shelter. Now, you shall feel no cold, for in each other is your warmth. Now ends your loneliness, for in each other you shall find companionship. Now, you are one person, one life, one soul for all eternity. Emiya Kiritsugu, you may now give your wife the Kiss of Life."
Kiritsugu turned to face Irisviel and the whole world disappeared. There was light in her eyes he had never seen before. It filled his soul, healing him, making him whole again. He died when he lost Shirley, but Natalia brought him back, renewed, battle-hardened and ready to forswear all hope and love for himself. He did not realize how much he craved to live again, to feel his heart beat and his soul yearn for someone so precious, so dear. Irisviel was his entire life now and never has he felt the desire to protect anyone's happiness as fiercely as he did right this moment. But, he was never good with words and these sentiments, though intense, would soon lapse into nothing more than regret. So, without caring who watched, Kiritsugu took his wife's radiant face in his hands and kissed her with all the passion and love he promised her.
They had shared many kisses before, fumbling and breathless, in the privacy of closed doors. Each kiss increased in intensity as their wedding day drew close, but none could have prepared either of them for the power that came with a union so greatly and desperately desired. Their lips met with the heat of youth, but the longing of ages. Kiritsugu felt Irisviel's legs give and he caught her against him. They would have stayed merged like this longer if it weren't for the sound of Acht clearing his throat.
Flushed with excitement and a little bit of embarrassment, they finally came apart. Obviously displeased, Acht spoke the final words of the ceremony.
"Go now to your dwelling place to begin the days of your life together. May your days together be good and long upon the earth."
And with that, the fate of Emiya Kiritsugu and his wife Irisviel von Einzbern was sealed.