Disclaimer- I do not own Fate/ Stay Night or any other related properties. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please Enjoy!

Chapter 36- Blake

He knew. He had known for a while now, but he knew that it was for the greater good. As soon as he had used Higher Arcana: Judgement, he knew that he was not long for the world. The tarot card magic had great and powerful potential, true. But, it extracted a great cost.

When used in ritual...that is...when properly prepared, Higher Arcana cards posed no threat to the user's life. But, when used on the fly like a suit card, they demanded a grave price. A price that could only be paid with one's life force. There was no other way. For every Higher Arcana card used, without the proper preparations, years were shaved off of the user's life equal to the number on the card.

In his millennium-long training in his inner world, Blake had discovered that his lifespan was ninety-three years. He was currently twenty, giving him seventy-three years of life to spend, if need be. Blake had used seven of the twenty-two Higher Arcana cards throughout the duration of the war. He had used The Magician, The High Priestess, The Chariot, Strength, Temperance, Judgement, and The World.

Upon use of the latest card, Judgement, Blake had put himself at exactly seventy-three years of burned up arcane life force. This meant, that at any moment, he would fade away. He was on borrowed time now, but he couldn't help but feel happy. He had saved the world for the people that he cared about.

Ben helped Blake limp through the gate and allowed him to stand on his own once they were on the other side. The mansion had completely burned down at this point and all that was left was an odd looking octagonal patch of floor around the two female magi. The rest of the clearing was ash. Blake marveled at the fact the te forest seemed unharmed.

As the two men exited the glowing gate, it shattered and both Rin and Sarah fell to their knees with shaky legs. They must have used a tremendous amount of mana to keep the gate open. They both looked exhausted.

Ben collapsed down next to Sarah and let sleep consume him. He had done things with his body that no human was meant to endure. Between his weird possession magic and his brief control over the grail's powers, the big man was understandably exhausted. Sarah rolled her eyes at him, but stayed where she was; a small smile playing at her lips.

Rin

Rin's knees had barely touched the floor before she sprang back up and jumped on Blake. She was amazed that she still had enough energy to do so, but she went with it. The man was beaten to all hell, but she was going to be selfish now. She had thought she was going to lose him again when the Grail had begun to crack. The stupid idiot had worried her and he was going to pay.

The woman collided into him with enough force to knock him onto his back.

"Oww." He groaned. "What the hell was that for?"

He was obviously in pain, and tackling him probably hadn't been the best course of action, but Rin still sat on top of him and began to lightly pound his chest with her fists as tears welled up in her eyes. She was going to let him have it.

"For making me worry again!" She yelled. "For making me turn into such a girl! For making me feel something for you! For being an idiot!" Her fists were coming down a bit harder now, but Blake just laid there and took it. "For leaving me behind while you go off and fight that horrible woman! And for..."

She trailed off as she looked into his eyes. A deep sadness seemed to rest there. A sadness that told her that he had given up something vital in that fight inside the grail. Something that he couldn't get back. That look worried her.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

His sadness seemed to grow.

Then it hit her.

Her dad had told her about tarot magic. In truth, it was superior in almost every way to the Tohsaka gem magic, but its cost was much greater. That power was the reason that the tarot mages were targeted. She recalled her dad mentioning the Higher Arcana cards. A magic that burned up the user's lifespan. Her eyes widened.

Back when Blake had saved her, Rin had felt a tremendous amount of mana drag her out of Einsbern's trap. At the time, it had been more mana than she thought that Blake could possibly posses, but now she knew why. Because he hadn't had that amount of mana in him. Yes, he had more mana than the average mage, but not nearly enough to cast a spell of that magnitude. He had been able to save her because he had condensed years of his life into a single spell. So if he looked this sad then he must of...

"How many did you use?" She whispered as her head began to hang. The tears that had begun to well up in her eyes started fall.

Blake broke his gaze and turned his head away. "I don't know what your-"

"Then let me elaborate, Blake. Higher. Arcana. Cards." She shot each word as she glared down at him; tears now flowing freely "How many of them did you use?!"

As he turned his head back towards her, his eyes said everything that his mouth couldn't. "Enough of them," the eyes seemed to say.

"How long?" She whispered. Her tears were waterfalling down her face now. He didn't answer. "How long!" She yelled as she glared at him straight in the eyes.

Her eyes were red and wet, and her nose was running. The air felt cold and desolate. Ben had woken from his very short nap and was watching the scene unfold with Sarah, but Rin was too upset to care about that. She was sad and pissed and every other emotion under the sun. In short, she was a wreck.

"One hour." He said with pain in his eyes.

"What? Why?! Why would you do this?!" She yelled. "Why would you throw away your life for this!"

"Because I had to make up for a life I took and because this was much bigger than any one of us." Blake responded with resolve in his eyes. "If the grail was allowed to exist, it would have caused destruction on a city wide scale. Possibly even a country wide scale. It was simple math. One life for millions."

"But that wasn't your mission!" Rin cried. "It was mine! I was the one who should have made a sacrifice like that! Not you! Why'd it have to be you?!"

"You did sacrifice yourself, but I couldn't live with that." Blake responded.

"What are you talking about?" Rin asked.

Sadness overtook Blake's face as he recalled the former timeline. As he recalled Rin, dead in his arms. "It doesn't matter now. You're safe." He looked over at the two other mages, then back to Rin. "Let's get going."

It hurt Rin that he didn't seemed phased at all by her outbursts. He was dying, and he didn't even seem to care.

Rin stormed off ahead.

Blake

The four magi walked solemnly back to the apartment. Rin walked a few meters in front of Blake and Sarah walked next to her; rubbing her back in comfort. Rin was understandably upset and needed a minute to cool off.

Ben strode next to his best friend in silence for a ways and then spoke.

"So when did you find out about the lifespan thing?" He asked while still looking forward. He seemed upset as well.

Blake sighed. "The first time, when I used Temperance, I guess."

This made Ben look at him in shock. "Since the first one?! Why didn't you say anything?! I know you were pretty drained after that, but still! You should have said something!"

Blake rubbed the back of his head. "It was more of a hunch back then. It was only until I ran into Einsbern that I found out fully what it was. By that time, it was too late. I was already too far in."

"But we could have come up with a different plan!" Ben argued. "You didn't need to sacrifice your last twenty years!"

Blake looked Ben dead in the eyes. There was guilt all over the occultist's face. "I did what I had to." The diviner said sternly. "Trust me. If there was another option. Another way. I would have taken it. But there wasn't. Judgement was the only way to bring down Einsbern, at the point we had reached."

"You only had to use that card because I was dumb enough to get possessed by her..." Ben trailed. "If I had been stronger-"

"Stop it." Blake interrupted the occultists pity party. "Don't do that to yourself, man. I chose this. This was my life, and my choice. The world demanded payment for victory, and I paid it gladly." Blake let out a joyless chuckle and gave a grim smile. "In a way, the Grail kind of granted my wish."

Ben looked at him in confusion.

"My wish," Blake continued. "Was for a world of safety. A world where the people I love can smile freely."

Silence.

Ben punched him.

He punched him so hard that it staggered the diviner into a tree. The two magi ahead of them turned around in surprise at the sound of the impact.

"What the-" Blake began.

Ben grabbed the diviner by the collar of his jacket and slammed him into the tree; causing more pain to corse through his broken body. Damnit! Why was everyone hitting him?! There was nothing but anger in Ben's eyes.

"Ben!" Rin yelled. "Stop it!"

"How the hell do you expect us to smile freely?!" Ben yelled in Blake's face; ignoring Rin. Blake had never seen his friend so angry, but he kept a neutral face. "You joined a war that you had no stake in! You completed a mission that wasn't yours to complete! And now, after all of it, you're just gonna fade away and expect us to smile freely?! Fuck you man! Fuck you."

Blake didn't back down. "First of all, I had stake in this war." Blake responded sternly. "My brother was going to battle and I had the means to join him. I wasn't going to back down and cower in my room. Second of all, that mission was my mission as well. I agreed to help the woman I care about and I'm a man of my word. And finally, yes. I do expect you to smile freely. This world is much bigger than you, or me, or any one person. So yes. I do expect that, because that is the world I'm leaving you. Take it or leave it." Blake pushed Ben off of him. "Now I'd like to spend my last moments in a semi-familiar place. Not in the middle of the woods getting yelled at."

Blake sighed as he touched his deck. He felt another card fade away. He had to tell them that it was for the world. If he told them that it was for them, then they'd blame themselves more than they already were. It was for the best that they didn't know the truth.

Besides. They would soon forget anyways.

30 minutes later

This was it. He had five minutes left before he disappeared. Blake stood on the roof of the apartment building and looked down at the card in his hand. The rest of his deck had all but disappeared, leaving this singular card in his possession. This would be for the best. There was no need for the man called Blake Ryan anymore.

He sighed.

That's when he felt them. Slender arms wrapped around his midsection from behind and a face buried itself between his shoulder blades. He smiled sadly. He knew exactly who it was.

"I don't want you to go." Rin's muffled voice sobbed into his back. "There has to be a way to save you."

Blake put the card back into his pocket and turned around to face her. The man stood almost a head taller than her, so he had to look down a bit. Her eyes were red and puffy. She was suffering because of him. This solidified what he was about to do.

"There isn't, Rin." Blake said as he pulled her to him. "So don't worry about me. I want you to forget about me and move on."

Rin pulled back and glared at him. "How could I ever think to forget about an idiot like you? I refuse! You can't make me!"

Blake smiled at the irony of that statement. "So you refuse to forget me then?"

"That's what I just said, you idiot." Rin scolded. "Don't think you ca-"

Rin stopped short as white energy began to dissipate off of the man she cared for. He was starting to fade. She reached out her hand to touch his face.

"No..." she whispered. "No! Don't go! Please! I'm begging you."

She latched onto him. Holding him as if she could hold him there forever. Blake smiled sadly down at the girl in his arms and reached for the card in his pocket.

"I love you, Rin." He said as he pressed his lips to hers. He had to use the card before he faded.

She could feel him fading as their lips continued to press together. Then he pulled away. "And I'm sorry." The man said as held the card up in the air.

"W-what are you doing?" Rin stammered." When she saw the artwork of a jester on the card, she froze. No. He meant to erase the world's memories of himself. He was about to erase the memories of himself from existence. "No..." She whispered in shock. "No! Stop it! I don't want to forget!"

"Oh Higher Arcana," Blake chanted with tears in his eyes.

Rin attempted to grab the card from his hand. "Please! I'm begging you! I don't want to forget! Don't make me forget!"

Blake moved in to hold her close, effectively shortening her reach. She struggled valiantly, but she wouldn't be able to grab the card now. "Hear me an obey for the final time."

"No! Please! Blake! No! I love you too! Don't do this! Don't make me forget! Please!" Rin pleaded as she struggled to break free. She attempted to enhance herself, but she was much too short on mana.

"Rewrite the world without the existence of diviner mage known as Blake Ryan."

"Nooo!" She cried.

The diviner gave her one last sad look, and then spoke the words she so desperately didn't want him to say. "Higher Arcana: The Fool."

White light flashed all around and rippled throughout the world. Pictures of him faded. Thoughts of him dissipated. Messages from him disappeared. Every trace that Blake Ryan had walked the earth, vanished.

And with that, he faded away into everlasting nothingness.

Rin

Rin Tohsaka was standing on the rooftop of the apartment building, in numb silence, when she finally shook out of her daze.

Why was she on the roof? And why were her eyes wet? Had she been crying? She wondered why. And why did she feel so lonely and sad? Even as she stood there, the feelings seemingly faded, but there still felt like there was something missing. Something that should have been there, but wasn't.

What could it be?

END

A/N: And that is the final chapter. Or is it? Like I mentioned, there will be an epilogue dropping soon. Be prepared for the neat stuff to come. If you enjoyed the story, it will be a real treat. Thanks for reading!

-B