Cursed Sword

by Kneenaw

Irisviel could not accept her own end, even corrupted she wishes to return to save her beloved. And so, as Shirou sits waiting to die, he is reborn as the host of a dark miracle, creating cascading effects that would alter the world. This fic spans from the end of the 4th HGW to the 5th. Currently it is starting the direct lead up to the 5th war.

37. Act Three: Moonline

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Act Three: Moonline

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Answer (Music) /S0uKPRlh9Aw

A long time ago, a boy sat with his father on the front porch, simply taking in the world lit only by the moon. Simpler days were ruled by the quiet spring air.

"The scar is still bleeding. Damn..." He had dressed it almost every day since Shirou had woken to its aching presence. Yet it was ever-present in its dull pain. It wasn't infected yet still bled as if it was some kind of message.

"Dad, do you know what it stands for? You said it was your fault, but why?"

He was stoic, looking out into the cool spring air. "Hmm..." He shook his head in melancholy for a past that was riddled with regret. "I once met someone bizarre. It was the first time that I truly felt lost in my life. I traveled my whole life, and I have told you all sorts of things. But when you seek out the strange places of the world... eventually, you will find yourself in one that is beyond your awareness. It was... in France..."

"France? That doesn't seem so weird?" I was thinking he was talking about a really exotic place like Africa or South America. Dad went to Europe all the time back then, and I never questioned why I could easily envision the streets of Germany as if I had been there before.

"The location didn't matter as much as that which was occurring. I was already old then. I had already had..."

"Had what?"

"...Nothing, Shirou. It is just a bad memory. Never trust the Association or the Church; they will sacrifice any number of innocent lives to achieve their goals." He shakes his head. "But it's getting late. You have school tomorrow. This isn't anything a child should confront."

"C'mon, please! Just finish the story first! I'm not a kid...!" I would have given anything for the conclusion of it. Because I believed whatever theory he would present for me would bring me closer to him.

He huffed, but somehow he seemed weak to my insistence. "Hmph. It was there that I encountered a situation of life and death. I was placed onto the brink and brought to the point that I would have no way to live. I had walked right into a place where humans could not survive, and I made the mistake of thinking I could change things. But I was driven into a corner that I had no way out of. That was when I was saved. It was..."

"What? Who saved you?" Father told all types of stories, but he never talked about anyone else in them. He was always alone.

"Heh. Someone I did not expect. A natural disaster in the form of a human. She disregarded me, yet in that action, she allowed me to live. I did not understand it... There were never any words, but all I felt then was that she did so for a reason and that I had traded something to live on that day."

This weird story was making me almost sleepy. Kiritsugu tended to be cryptic like he didn't want to get into it. Some stories he would tell animated, and others he was slow. I had to ask directly.

"But what does that have to with the scar?"

"Hahaha... I don't know, Shirou. Somehow it reminded me of that time... Hmm..." He patted my shoulder carefully. "The moon was so bright that night. So bright it could only manifest as a miracle. If this is truly the connection... then I don't think it is anything you need to worry about."

"I hope I can see a miracle!"

He smiled, but his eyes were far away. "...Miracles can be the worst curses there are. They exist only for a moment, and when they leave, you will know of the emptiness when they are no longer there. "

"Oh..."

"But perhaps one day... I can not rule it out for you. I'm just an old man, right? Once you grow old, the world does not shine as it once did." Kiritsugu sighed. 'One day, you will see a miracle, and it will leave you.' Irisviel said that once, with a sad smile. She told me miracles came out of the continuous and unbreakable effort. That it is built up for a single moment in time. As if to say that it was the most beautiful thing to behold, yet the cruellest thing to lose.

"Then I will make it shine...! I will make it shine so you can see it too!" I declared childishly. I really believed that I could do it, and make that man smile again. It was everything to me.

"I'm looking forwards to it, Shirou. I'm in your care."

That was a night from years ago, but the dream of making the world shine for everyone never ended. Even if it meant taking in all the darkness into himself to do it, the boy said it was worth it.

Miracles are things you attain with your own two hands, so I couldn't have been the source. But all that told me was that I would see my miracle, and have it taken from me. But you know... I deserve that.

I open my eyes to the same view as always. The chains that bind to this hill prevent anything else. Except... there is something out of place. "Who... are you?"

"..."

The girl is so odd that she stands out in a world of madness like this. It is a little girl wearing black; she looks at me straight without saying anything. Yet, she looks so disarming and cute that it isn't even creepy. She blends into the world of dreams as if it was her home.

"...What am I talking about... nothing makes sense anymore." This world is melting. It's like being in a great furnace, and magma is being poured in. Magma is in the form of magical energy, and this world is a place that serves only once purpose. It turns curses into swords. Now it is going haywire as it sucks in magical energy from the leylines. "It wasn't supposed to be this way."

I was supposed to take Gilgamesh on my own. I had a plan and everything, but that went all wrong. Arcueid, Sakura, and Tohsaka would see to that. I did not foresee this series of events...

"..." I'm useless at the most important things and excel at the worst. "Was that... what you wanted me to see?"

The short girl who has the aura of an annoyed cat walks closer to me. She pokes me once, then stops. She does nothing but watches, as if bored.

"You are..." My head hurts as I think. Her form bends under my eyes and she is registered as a comprehensible being. My head hurts. "Len?"

Succubus.

I don't know why I know that but it probably has to do with being given the title of 'king of demons'. The world itself grants me knowledge to fulfil that role.

Maybe the more this world is saturated with al energy, the more that I lose myself and the world begins recognizing me less as Emiya Shirou and more as Angra Mainyu. That of course is exactly what Gilgamesh is trying to do, but I can stop him all on my own. I'll be fine alone forever if that is what it takes.

As long as I know who I am, then Gilgamesh can't win. "Yes... I am Emiya Shirou, can't forget that... And you are... Erm, hmmm... A succubus. A demon that feeds on the latent desire of a human as they dream. Why are you here? I wouldn't suggest tasting the desires and curses held within this world, they can only destroy."

"...?" My words do not reach her. "..." She leans up at me, and I look deep into her red eyes. She is inspecting me as a cat would.

"What-?" And then...

She kisses me. I feel light and my mind goes out and elsewhere as if my soul leaves my body. A sort of euphoria, yet with it comes images.

A view of sisters fighting to the death, and of the two beings closest to the gods cracking reality as they fought. "Ah!" I was looking up, and I saw a girl in black crying and letting her emotion run free. Sisters who could speak truthfully to one another, and a princess who had never, not once allowed her desires to be bared. The older sister having said her truth, accepts that she will leave the stage having not attained anything. She drowns in a lake without an ending.

This scene is burned into my mind.

Someone that needs to be saved. Someone that is important to me. I remember her face, even my memories meld with the incoming nothingness. She will drown in that if I do nothing. But if I intervene many more will die in her place.

"That is..." If I do nothing, then only a bad ending awaits. "But..."

Yet... I can't do anything but watch. I can't break free of this curse. I can't leave this place. I can't let go of these chains. I just... can't let go of the thing that keeps me alive.

Mom said that I would choose between a dream that can never come true or a family that is right in front of me. People I care for most. But is that enough to hold onto...?

When I was boiled and all that was left a burned-in shadow, that man and his ideal saved me. That all I had. So...

"I can't... I am sorry. I can't let go of this... Just as you can't help but feed off the dreams of others... I can't help but save them." If I let go, I die.

The distinction between demon and hero merged into one. That is how it always was. There couldn't possibly still be room for human, would there? I cannot justify changing for those I care for. I can't save the people I love no matter what I try. There is a mind of steel and it doesn't break.

Then I look down at myself and see the hypocrisy.

"Oh."

The chains broke immediately. I broke it. I let go of all of my countermeasures and became vulnerable to losing myself in an instant. All because I envisioned a world in which I let Tohsaka die without even lifting a finger. As if there was a choice...

"I see..." It wasn't complicated. I'm just doing as I want. The matter of if I'll live with it or not is irrelevant. This mind of steel will never break, yes... but it bend. And with hope that means reaching the best ending to this ordeal.

This curse does not chain me, it only punishes me after fact. Well, fine, curse me if your will. I'll save her no matter what!

My hand extends into the water, and I pull her leg down to the bottom and to the world on the other side of the reflection.

I didn't even think about it. This was natural for a selfish person like me. As a harsh rule, many people outweigh one. But in the ideal that went into Emiya Shirou, there was a single hole. I was not going to lose any more of my family, whatever the cost.

I don't know if Irisviel is watching, or what she thinks, but I feel that I have finally found my answer to what she always asked me. I choose to save the one right in front of me, so no one has to cry at the end.

Len sees this then as if satisfied by something, turns away. "Wait... I-I... thank you. I won't forget this." But I don't know if she understands. She exits this world as if her job was done. Demons are existences that humans can not, by definition, understand. But I understood her, and I know that is what demons wish for most of all. Even though she leaves, and I can not be that person for her, I feel that she will surely find that someone one day.

I already have red devil who needs me now. "Hah..." I may have just damned the world and myself all for Tohsaka Rin, but I didn't regret it for a second.

---

Deep Slumber (Music) /bqWDDNFVn48

For a long time, I sank. For a long time, I drowned. The person I was burned away. The regrets of the past and the hopeless dreams of the future ate me alive. The evil of the world demanded I pay for the sin of living. It demands that I die in disgrace.

I drift in that hell for a long time, but eventually, even the ocean has an end. I don't know why I wasn't consumed by it. I don't remember who I am. ...But for some reason, I knew that I couldn't just let go. Even if everything else burned away, I felt that letting something end half-finished was intolerable.

And so I open my eyes.

There was only an unnaturally luminous green sky. Something that was not meant to be seen with human eyes, for witnessing it would ruin all other images thereafter. The air that came into my lungs was a little smoky as if there was a burning volcano nearby. Everything was pulsing as if I were inside a beating heart, and the ground was coarse and rough. This place was certainly inhospitable for living.

"Ahhh..." I can breathe? "Who am I...?"

I don't remember. All I remember was falling. I fell for a long time.

I remember that it is important to keep breathing, though. It is almost surprising, even though it isn't supposed to be. Forgetting how to breathe would be a bad thing, a very bad thing.

I feel drained down the bone. My mouth is dry and I feel a malaise that threatens to turn me into an empty shell. "Where... am I?" Then I realize it, there is only one place this could be.

Dead. I am dead.

But who is me? Why am I being eaten alive by myself? There were regrets in my self, but they were odd. The person I was before did not regret her actions, only that she was unable to see them through to their end.

'Die. Die. Die.'

This is what lies at the bottom of the lake. This hell swallows humans. No human can live with this. I am lost and I will never find my way out. I am drowning and my energy is being consumed.

I drifted for a long time. I didn't have the mind left to think of why there was sharp steel sticking out of the ground. All my thoughts were of my impending doom and everything that I was wrong about. I knew it was time for me to die...

Just when I knew all that remained was to drift off and lose myself once and for all, I was forcibly taken away by a voice.

"The Tohsaka I know would never be consumed by her worries."

"What...? You..." I weakly say. "You...that is... My name...?"

When I awake I see I am not drowning. I am lying down and above me is a boy with red and white hair. For some reason there are things that my mouth wishes to say.

He hasn't been taking care of himself and that makes me mad.

Why? Who is this?

Why can't I remember?

What is it? Am I so pathetic I can't remember something that easy? Isn't he supposed to be important to me!? My regrets don't want me to recall someone I can hold onto. The lake of curses wants me to let go of my only guide.

But I don't want to forget. If there is anything that is important to me, then it is the boy in front of me, I feel.

I became agitated by his distant face. Is he ignoring me while I struggle?

"Come on, wake up...! Baka!" I yell at the boy. Yet it feels like I am yelling at myself.

"..."

Broken chains that wrap like snakes around us, a place that has no logic to it. Swords that surround us like grave markers. A web of lies. The air is hostile and tiresome, it will drag you down until your mind cracks under pressure.

This place is somewhere I know I have never been, yet it is oddly familiar.

I notice that this is a lonely hill in a world where a plain of sword and sea of curses intertwines. I don't understand anything anymore but that fits into my full state of mind correctly.

A place that should not exist. That feeling took over my throat, and it makes me almost want to cry. That is the natural reaction of a rational person to being placed in such a place. Anyone would be overwhelmed, even if they could remember who they were, and did not feel that they were withering away.

"Is there something the matter?" His voice breaks the silence. As if to look after me as one looks after a child the boy notices me and comforts me. For some reason I do not mind it.

"Y-yes...! But why can't K remember it? A-and were you just waiting for me to be like this to speak up...!?"

"Because your mind has chosen not to recall. It lost what was unnecessary to live. ...But perhaps moving on would be the more comfortable thing. Would you wish for that? You have now seen the heart of that curse, do you understand why it seeks to ground everything down to nothing?"

I think, but I feel that I can't possibly understand it.

"...I-I don't know... It would be easy to do that and wipe away all the regrets... But a part of me is too pissed off to allow that." My mind may be empty, but my body and soul yell out that I refuse to lose without even trying.

"That is the Tohsaka I know. "I can't leave. If I step in any further... This whole strategy of going it alone will turn out to have been wrong and useless. I can draw him into an eternal battle and then everyone else will never have to confront this problem that I caused." He tried to answer calmly, yet there was a certain doubt in him that didn't fit.

"Can't leave? ...That's wrong. It can't be that the inactive path is the right one. You have... erm... what was it called?" The chains are made out of steel, but magic can break anything! Why can't I use my own!? Magic? Oh, yeah I am a Magus! "Use your magic and break from this mess, yes that sounds good!"

He shakes his head. "I can not break out of it."

"W-why not?"

I am shaking him. This is the frustration that has always defined our relationship. This sort of situation has repeated itself over and over and over like a vicious cycle. Us? Yeah I know him well. He is not a stranger at all. His name is...? He is being obstinate about something and I want him to change. All I end up doing is shaking him and hurting him, and he never budges an inch. This feels somewhat nostalgic.

"Even after saving you... I can't see another path forward. I can only do what I know."

His name... I can remember... "Shi-Shi-... Shirou! Shirou, why? Why? Why are you always acting so stupid? Never relying on someone right next to you who can help?"

"...I can't help it, it is who I am. I'm not like you. I don't have many good ideas. Once I find a solution for something I follow it until the end, even if I'm wrong." Okay, now I am pissed.

I don't even know who I am but I know that I would be so mad to hear him say that.

...My anger makes me shake so bad it hurts. "You are a nasty person, Shirou, and I have always hated you!" I regret saying it. I mean it, but I don't. I hate him, but I don't. I hate the contradiction that he is, yet I take solace in his warmth regardless.

He smiles softly and shakes his head as if satisfied. "Curse me if you will, if that will make you feel better, I will take it all." That look... how can you have such a dumb self-satisfied look for something so utterly idiotic? As if what I said to him was a nice thing.

As if he is fine if I hated him if it meant I would regain myself. If I can't take myself back then I am letting him win. If I don't give myself my name back, then he really will disappear with that horrible smile.

Half measures are now pointless. My arms cover his back, and I embrace him. "...I forgive you... Shirou. I say those things... but who I hate the most is myself. That is how it has always been. What I saw in you was the part of me I kept trying to kill, yet your warmth kept that part alive. Yeah... you are an idiot, but you are my idiot."

"Wha...?" His eyes, which had been fogged over until now look up finally. As if to say that he only now even recognized me.

I hug him tight, even embarrassed... because I don't want him to go back to that state. I don't want him to feel cornered anymore. If I was feeling myself maybe I wouldn't have the nerve to do this, but perhaps that is a good thing. "I am here, so you can't go wandering off alone anymore alright!? Come back to me! So look in my eyes and do as I say...!" I say such a thing. My face is so red that I want to cry. My eyes are puffy looking into his.

'Look at your own peril.' Some told me that once, but I can't remember their name. There is a darkness in them that seems to go on forever, and it will swallow you alive if you let it. Deep golden brown gives way to a rainbow. Red for the fires that burn the river. Orange for the ever-setting sun. Yellow for the sands of the eternal plain. Green for the sky of heaven in the air. Blue for the sword that pierces a stone in the centre of it all. Indigo for the fog that permeates the hill of steel. Violet for a single lone tree, struggling to live within this desolate world. And at the end, a dark void that goes on forever.

Loneliness. Eventually, those colours will fade, and all that will remain is the nothingness. That is the path he has chosen. And yet...

My teeth clench. I won't allow it. "Don't you dare leave me alone..." As if it were a little girl's voice from a long time ago, Tohsaka Rin says that it is wrong.

That is the me who reflects off his irises.

I see my own self in his eyes. I remember who I am now. That makes me hold hum even tighter until I fall over from exhaustion. Remembering everything so fast has been a toll on my mind and somehow I feel it is far from over. I survived something that humans aren't supposed to survive. I guess he would be the one who knows how to guide someone out of that miasma.

"To-saka?" He says. "You made it back... I'm glad." I think he's honest about that.

"...I found you finally." I said some cruel and stupid things I didn't really mean, and then he went off and made me worry. If things had been left on those terms I don't know what I'd do with myself.

Now that I know I am the dignified Tohsaka Rin, I can not cry in front of him a second more. If I show that weakness in front of him in this state then I'd die from humiliation. All I can do now is hope he forgets all about that.

As if he remembers what I'm thinking of, he relaxes. "..."

That lets me follow him without worry. Eventually, I am sitting with him with his back on my own. "Hah..." Whatever comes next I fall into this temporary rest without resistance.

There is nothing to say, but so much that needs to be said. All those fears become distant as I look out into the black river under the green stars. I don't know if Shirou will listen to me, or if he could even hear.

If Shirou can't find a way forward that appeases me, then it falls to me to do so.

There is no journey to reach back to regret and eliminate it, but I can't help but be burdened by it. It was the first time in nine years that I let it catch up to me after all. So why not say what can be said before moving into the future? Let this sea of curses swallow my murky past so tomorrow can be just a bit brighter.

---

Ever-Present Feeling (Music) /3L1DEvzsftw

How long have we been sitting like this? The silent girl starts to talk in a calm voice.

"...I'm just talking to myself."

"..." ...I see. I can't reply if she's just talking to herself. I'll keep staring at the distant sky.

"I might have made a mistake. I should've dealt with Sakura without caring how I did it. I wanted to become the greatest Magus of this age, who would hold the power of everything she wants in her hands. I was trying to find a way of doing that while keeping a foolish butler and a problematic younger sister. Even when it was my responsibility to protect my town, even when it was my responsibility to deal with Sakura, I failed to make a single sacrifice. Now it turns out that everybody in this town might be sacrificed."

She keeps talking.

She's probably whining.

She's not saying so because I told her.

In short, Tohsaka doesn't want to contemplate her actions by herself but wants someone else to make her do it.

It is our vicious cycle. Our own personal hell never ceases to re-manifest itself. Taiga once called us an old married couple, and honestly, I can't completely disagree.

"...I'm not complaining, but I keep on screwing up when it counts the most. I can handle the second and third most important things easily, but I always have a problem with the single most important one."

The green sky is clear. But in contrast, the air down here is hot as from the eternal fires below. I don't care about myself, but isn't Tohsaka hot? Eventually, one who is unaffiliated to it will burn themselves out.

The worries of this world are unlimited. The regret here clings to you like a corpse pulling you down with it. ...I'm worried about that. I never want her to be uncomfortable. "It's not Sakura's fault alone that she lost her way. It's my fault for letting her be. You see... I had a chance earlier than that. Now I am cornered..." She sighs. "...Hey now. I think this is where you make a comment."

"Oh. So, what were you cornered by, Tohsaka?"

"It's about never regretting your own actions. Even Gilgamesh said I'm not the type to regret my actions, but it seems now's the critical moment. I'm even more depressed that I've made a mistake."

In the choice of a greater or lesser evil, Tohsaka chose the greater evil. "..." But that had been the warped view of Magi from the beginning. They did not take goodness into account, because they were expected to forsake that notion entirely. The problem was that Tohsaka was always a good person underneath, and it was eating her alive. She would be miserable her whole life, drowning herself in jewels.

She didn't know how to make the choice she wanted without forsaking who she was and ended up losing as a result.

...I see. Tohsaka isn't the type to regret her actions. She made the right choice, and just wanted a little affirmation. "That's just now, right? It's irritating, but I agree with him. There's nothing for you to regret."

"Why? Sakura became lost, and Arcueid ran off on me. I couldn't do anything to avenge my father. This is because my policy was a mistake, right?"

"It's just that you were unsuccessful. You haven't made a mistake. If you haven't made a mistake, you can be proud of yourself even if you were unsuccessful." ...The process. If you walk down the path that you believe is right, you cannot be wrong. At a time like this, most people will realize that their path is a wrong one, but she's different. Her path should always be one that she can be proud of. "...Yeah. To be honest, you've always shined. ...I won't regret my actions either. I believe what I've done is right, but it's full of stitches." ...I don't want to regret anything. I want to make all the tragedies that happened into meaningful things by believing that my path is right. "But you're different. You're the type that will regret something, then go back and retaliate. I'm deceiving myself with all the patchwork, but you go and destroy it with a straight face. You're breaking even. You only get depressed once in a while, but what comes after is scary in your case. I think you will go to the one that got you depressed and get them to be even more depressed."

"...Ugh. What is this? Are you trying to finish me off?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd strike while your guard was down. Well, isn't that true? I'm sure you don't intend to give up now."

I look up at the verdant sky and say so as if talking to myself.

Tohsaka doesn't answer. But I think that... She smiled, getting herself together.

"..." And silence follows. Tohsaka must have said everything she wanted to, as she stops talking. I aimlessly look up at the green sky. ...We should be getting ready now... But neither one of us can stand up to break the moment, so we just keep our backs to each other.

"...Oh yeah. Why did you come to save me, Shirou?"

"..."

I can't explain. There are many reasons. I think it'd be stupid to explain each one. So I say something I have to tell her.

"Remember our contract?"

"Yeah... I do."

Mom and Dad's wedding, Tohsaka learning the truth, Kotomine being cursed out of Fuyuki. Reality itself bending to the will of an alien intelligence that simply wanted to experience a happy life. That was not a day that is easily remembered, but impossible to forget.

"I promised I would never let you fall into that despair again... Of course, I can't help but be the reason it is happening this time. But I won't forget that duty." I can feel it tightening in my hands. Surely this won't slip out of my fingers as all else does.

She sees through me. "That can't possibly be the reason..."

Yeah... There was no lofty ideal in it. In the first place, I signed the contract because I admired her and wanted to see her shine more. Before I knew it, I had lost all my composure and I was breaking all the rules to save her.

"...Right. ...It's just a reason I made up afterwards. To confess, I've been admiring Tohsaka Rin for a long time. And this is a problem, but I got to like you even more after I became your best friend. So I didn't want you to die, and I broke my chains before I even realized it." I laugh dryly.

"...H-Hey now. Don't say it so directly! You'll create misunderstandings if you talk without thinking!"

"I won't create misunderstandings. I really do like you." I obstinately reply at once. It's not a lie, so there's no misunderstanding to be made. "I traded my plan to stop Gilgamesh to save you. I guess I wouldn't do that for just anyone... Haha."

"Y-You idiot...! That's why you doomed everyone, you big idiot!" Tohsaka keeps calling me an idiot. She's criticizing mercilessly, but I strangely don't feel bad. In my mind, there is nothing I won't sacrifice to keep her shining relentlessly.

The green sky is beautiful, and I feel calm. And I'm just really happy that Tohsaka's back to normal. "What now? What can we do? Isn't it too late? We've been here wasting time so... it should be far too late."

"Time is different here... We could stretch this moment out into an eternity... I can't explain why. As for us, there is one last option. It would be granting Gilgamesh's wish."

Tohsaka returns to her Magus mindset and proves her genius. "Time is relative? Hmm, I see. If the magical energy is sufficient, then a sphere of this size could reach the level of a singularity. And then with the proper structure, you could bend even time at the center. But this is only possible because of the Holy Grail being used to attempt to merge with an alternate space. If the Association knew about this, then they'd send all their enforcers to take you and the Holy Grail... enough of that for now."

"I see... So you know what this place is." Now she is saying things I don't understand. I'm glad to see this Tohsaka back, the one who will find a solution no matter what. Tohsaka being brought into this world caused a small hole to form. Like poking a small hole in a balloon, this could be expanded out as far as it can while not erupting. "It's simple. I'm going to give Gilgamesh precisely what he wanted. I'll show him the hell he desired, but I won't let it go behind that."

Her mouth is thin in neither frown not smile. "That is as direct as what I would expect of you. But Shirou, that is... Controlling a Reality Marble is like trying to wrestle a typhoon, and this one is already spiralling out of control..."

I stand up.

She is afraid. Not of the future, but of what I must become to take control of what this world is. "Do you trust me, Rin?"

"...Yes." She looks up at me. She mumbles, "and don't say my first name so casually..." But her resistance is gone.

"...Then I won't disappoint. I will bring you into the future with these two hands."

I grab her hand with my right. I pull her up. "Then we don't owe each other anything now. Let's not count this incident."

"..." That would really help me out.

Sisters confronted one another, and in the end, they both realized their paths did not lead to salvation. They are both troublesome types that need someone by their side. I created a situation that would ruin everything and only save them from something that is my fault. Tohsaka didn't want that and said the incidents offset one another. So Tohsaka shouldn't feel bad about getting help earlier.

"Hold my hand tight and don't let go. Leave it to me to finish this, Tohsaka. Look after Sakura now, only you can do that now. When I bring her here to the source of her curse... If she can see no way to move on, then it won't matter what I do with Gilgamesh if she allows herself to fuse with it." As the Holy Grail, she is most fit to become like a Beast. When Gilgamesh was unable to turn me he used her. That is something unforgivable.

She is a bit flustered. "M-me? I can't do that... She doesn't want to hear anymore from me."

"Regardless of the fact I will be busy, you are the one she wants to hear from the most. Words are unnecessary between her and I."

I asked her once that she only needed to watch as I fight for her. I will ask that again.

"Then I will leave the fighting to the monsters. ...Not that it can be helped now. I know I can't kill her, so all that is left is to pull her into the future for the both of us. ...And Shirou, finish the job this time; avenge my father. Don't stop for anything until that man is dead."

Avenge? A part of me knows well how to do that. I may have to go all out then with her feelings behind me.

Tohsaka seemed free of a tiresome lie. She will always be relentless and selfish, but the good side of her has been exposed and she is all the better for it.

She promised coldly she would let Arcueid do whatever she wished, even if that meant my death. But when the time came, she didn't sit back and gave her everything to keep me alive. Even if she says the debts have defaulted, I know that I will never be able to repay that. "I wouldn't have reached this far without you. Thank you, Tohsaka. I'll be in your care once again."

"Don't say all that...! Let's just do this then...!" Her cheeks are pink, but I keep looking at her. "S-stop it already or you are going to say something easily misunderstood again...! How cheesy can you get? Jeez..." Despite her words, she didn't pull her hand away even after I pulled her up. If anything she is hold my hand back tighter than she ever has.

I turn around and survey the far plains for a place in which this battle can be waged. The energy being siphoned from the Holy Grail and into me is about to shatter. Sakura slowed down its progress by taking as much as she could into herself, but soon she won't be able to handle it. I will turn my mind into steel and take it all.

I'll trade everything for the chance to fight.

"Now what do I do..." I have the resolve but not the knowledge.

"It is your world, Shirou. If you gave me a few years then I could give you an answer... but this is your magic. You are my apprentice, don't disappoint me."

I definitely can't look bad now after all those embarrassing words. "Hmm... I'm going to work with your circuits in tandem, Tohsaka. Together I can force the activation."

"Activation?"

"Yes. This place is not complete..."

I'm making up theory on the fly here, but it should be the same idea as turning on my switch. Except that the difference is that my circuits only come up to about 250 in capacity and this reality marble is a furnace designed for endless perpetual energy. This will require a few more steps. Instead of a single phrase, it will be multiple, each representing a part of the process.

Skip the first steps as this place is already manifested, then center on the circuit that runs between me and this. This is all only an extension of own self. A mind full of curses and swords. Left still they will surely eat me alive, so...

I think I understand now. This is the gift he left me with. The potential to create utopia out of the greatest evil. This is the only magic available to Emiya Shirou.

"To activate a circuit together... Hmm... Wait...! We need to sympathize with that, E-mi-ya-kun, you wouldn't be suggesting a mana transfer, would you?" She teases dangerously.

The air is so thick with energy that bridging a connection with her here is far easier than it would normally be. "Oh. Don't worry about that. We don't have the time, besides, I know the sound of your breath, so I can do this without any effort in this environment. If I feel you with my racing, then I should be able to sympathize with your entire being."

"...!" I feel a chill beside me. She is flustered. Is she nervous?

She was just teasing me before, what did I say? "...? What is it, Tohsaka?"

"You are an idiot." For some reason, she boiled over. I don't know from anger, embarrassment or... something else that she and I couldn't acknowledge. "You are horrible, and I hate you... But still... I don't regret knowing you." I feel something soft and wet on my cheek for only a moment.

"Ah...Huh... Wha?" I'm so embarrassed I can barely think. My heart is pulsing for a new reason. I forget all about the situation. "W-why did you do that...?"

"That was for before. I didn't want you to go unrewarded for saving me." She says almost like a seductress. She is far more mature than I can handle. Then her attitude changes and her mature mask falters when she realizes what she just really did. "I mean, err that was nothing...!" Her face is so red it is going to explode. "Forget I said that! You better forget I did that! ...I might need to kill you after all. Nothing happened, understood!?"

"Haha. If you say so." But there are some things that the heart says that the mouth cannot. I can't understand why she would have love for someone like me... but I can understand why someone would love her. "I've already pushed it out of my mind."

"Well... maybe don't forget entirely..." She murmurs. She is a contradiction herself.

She can tolerate being next to me even when I am burning. She accepts me, maybe because she doesn't understand, but she accepts me. The least I can do for that comfort is do everything to give her the peace of mind she deserves.

(Music Stop)

What is most important lies in reality, not here in this ruin. No more use in delaying, when there is something that needs to be rectified. Sakura is crying alone, and her family needs to come and stand her up and set her on the right path. There is a demon who seeks an answer and a hero who needs to be given defeat.

Using both of our circuits, I attempt to unlock the true power of this magic. 'Now, what words can I muster to connect my heart to this magic?'

'Words are crucial to all magic.' That was Waver's lesson. At the very core of magic is the connection between soul and reality. Eyes and words are both methods of that connection. As both of those are already connected to this circuit, I will use both.

Think. Think.

I clench my teeth so hard they will break, I feel myself lose a piece of myself in offering... but eventually the dam breaks. 'Ah.' So that is it. I see all the blades I have ever traced. Some unknown and obscure, others held by heroes of the past. A small collection compared to the shadow of the future. Steel is not what gives me strength. Rather it is a reflection of my own spirit, creating many weapons to turn that will into something discernible.

I have created many blades... survived many curses...

Unlimited Blade Works (Music) /7X3XEnxr7k0

...All that remains is someone to wield them.

"I am the bone of my Sword..." My hand held out, I hear gears begin to turn as machinery revs into reality. A ring of fire grows and begins to envelop everything. This place starts to take a true form, past the fiction it was before. The full picture is coming into view.

The lonely view looking down at humanity, bringing light with darkness. So this is the image he saw. A green utopia and a black sea of curses bringing a future that will embrace everyone.

'I'll turn this dream into reality...! I'll make these ideals come true, even if they are impossible.' A ring of fire expands this world into reality and forms a bubble taking in everything on that mountain.

---

Gilgamesh moves to kill Arcueid. "Enuma Elis-" The fully charged weapon that cuts heaven and Earth that will fire across the entire sky burning Arcueid's very soul.

She is afraid. She doesn't want to die now that she has just started to live. "...!" Arcueid is not a god. But the chains work by cutting off the source of power. Although she struggles to tear down the binds to her arm, there is no way she can escape in time. She felt regret so much she couldn't bear to look. She lamented her own end, yet when she once more looked out, everything changed.

A row of fire surrounded the temple, and then there was a new world that supplanted it.

As if the Earth had gone out to save her, the sky had turned green. "...What...? A-valon?" The word meant nothing to her, but the feeling was one she knew only as the warmth of family. Whatever was closest to family for being like her.

"What is this?" Ea stops spinning.

A sword fires at Gilgamesh's back. He is forced to deflect it with a sword in his left hand. "...Ah, so the boy finally enters the stage. Pathetic-"

"Trace on. Trigger break. Penalty set."

But that sword was only a decoy. My true attack came from my Now, centering all my energy.

From all my travels, there have been two blades that stood out among all others. I may have only witnessed them now long after their legend was over, and I will never recreate the attunement of their true owners. Yet I do not 'own' these blades, I make them.

"Curtana...!" That I one.

Curtana, the sword of Mercy. Sword of Tristan of the Round Table. Kept by the British royal family in their Crown Jewels. How I came to see it in person is best left unsaid. Normally it is a weak blade that only punishes those who are evil, and automatically seeks to maple their skull. But as a Broken Phantasm it was strong to break even Arcuied's skin.

One blade remains that I can match him with.

Joyeuse, the sword of thirty colours. The blade held by Charlemagne, holding the strongest aura I have seen in a blade. I found it easily in France, as it was displayed in their largest museum. The sword is held by one on the path of a king. ...I may not care for the title, being a fake, but I will use it as the king of demons, and manifest as much of its true power as I can. I project seven of them to forge a rainbow. 'Penalty break.' Then I break them into forming the pure energy of the visual spectrum. This time the bow and the string is in my mind. I finish the steps in my mind.

Judging the concept of creation. Hypothesizing the basic structure. Duplicating the composition material. Imitating the skill of its making. Sympathizing with the experience of its growth. Reproducing the accumulated years. Excelling every manufacturing process.

"Joyeuse...!"

But it's no use. I'm too slow.

"Enuma Elish...!"

My imperfect rainbow can not match the burning light of heaven.

It will burn through even the barrier keeping this world from intersecting into reality, and then it is too late. The Reality Marble starts to collapse. If that happens... then Angra Mainyu would be let out. I achieved nothing. But then... something changes, and Ea was suddenly forced to aim upwards by a third force. A vulnerability that occurs at the small moment before my desperate attack is completed blown away.

It was Arcuied. She manifested a blast of wind as if to bless and complete my incomplete weapons the light of the Earth. She, who holds the true texture of the rainbow inside herself, puts her full support into making it real. That drains her of the last of that power, and as she is no longer on Earth she is cut off from her source of power.

Arcuied snatches Gilgamesh's chains and pulled him at the most opportune time. Arcueid's blast of wind is so strong he has to bring out a shield from his gate to deflect it. That unbalances his other hand, leaving it vulnerable to the direct attack of Joyeuse.

Crack...!

A great explosion rocks everything and I am blown over by it. It is like a great firework exploding in my face.

The full power of Joyeuse hit Ea itself before it reached full power, and it wound down.

"Wh-at...?" Gilgamesh can not believe it.

Enuma Elish isn't damaged or broken, it is only scratched. But to Gilgamesh that is a slight beyond any other. He does not want to use it now even if it feels necessary. To damage his greatest treasure at all is an attack on his very core.

He is enraged.

"You...!" Ea leaves the battlefield, and in its place thirty Noble Phantasms appear. Yet comparing them to that golden lance, it is clear that these are far lesser. "You dare interfere...!" Gilgamesh aims for Arcuied, blaming her first. Without her blessing, the attack, nothing I could do would have had the potential to scratch Ea in such a way.

I intersect him, and Arcuied is behind me at the top of the hill. She escaped his chains but she is weak. This is not good... For her to be so tired she can no longer stand means she has begun to reach the limit of even her great reserves. "I won't let you hurt her!"

"Ha- Hahahahaha!" He laughs madly. Bloodlust seeps into the air and threatens to freeze me. Gilgamesh intends to kill me now. He isn't driven insane by the curse. Rather the curse just gave him the reason to become like this. "Hahaha. Indeed, Mongrel. What do I care about her? She is irrelevant. Gaia fails to find a useful servant, as always. Now that you are here, and all the conditions are met, all that remains is your death. I have been awaiting this. I cannot even stand to look at a counterfeit that a faker has created. You piece of trash. You have nothing real within you. An imitation made by copying people should be turned into junk." He shoots numerous Noble Phantasms. The unavoidable rain pours down. There are about fifty of them by the end. I project thirty in the time I have to look, but I can't trace the ones I can not see. The shower of swords is welcomed in this world of blades.

I cannot dodge it. I know it is selfish to die here, but if he kills me then that is it. Emiya Shirou will die, but what is left will become something even worse. I will just have to retain myself and take him out with me...

And yet...

Even in the midst of the chaos, I see it from the reflection of a blade. The white fairy flies. She runs to me and pushes me. "I won't let you...!" The air fills with dirt.

"..." She refuses to let me kill myself. I'm pushed away from the white figure. Her eyes are telling me... 'You defeat him'.

The clouds of dust fill my vision. She closes her eyes and goes motionless. As if to say 'Only you can do this.' She must be alive. She has to be alive, but I don't even have the time to check.

"Oh, I'm surprised, vampire. You had enough to spare to save him in that situation?" His sarcastic words contain some scorn. He looks insane with his form pushed to the limit.

The man smiles in satisfaction as he looks down at the ground filled with Arcuied's blood.

"..." Silence falls. All that remains are blades skewered into the ground.

He will finish her off then. ...Now I can't just die. She told me that I can't just sacrifice myself. I can't keep looking bad like this in front of her. "Heh..." I laugh at how pathetic I am. I try to sacrifice myself for everyone but every time I only hurt the ones around me.

That is all a sword can do.

I pull a sword out from the ground and point it at the one I must overcome.

"I'm your opponent. Beat me if you want to attack Arcuied." I take a step forward. That must have gotten on his nerves.

The golden Servant takes his eyes off Arcuied and looks at me.

"...Ha, that bitch of Gaia will die anyway. It was out of compassion that I tried to kill her..." The Noble Phantasms point lets out a sharp/murderous intent. "But it seems I need to teach you a lesson before that. ...You miserable fraud. I shall teach you the difference between the fake and the real...!" He releases his treasures unsparingly. The longsword slashes through the darkness.

I match it with my own. I copy the axe and match him in the air. When they meet space itself shatters, but I'm the one left being pushed back, barely standing on my feet.

I can't copy the true power of his weapons in time.

"Tch." Even still... "...I will overcome you alone."

"What foolishness...! How many times has it been now that I have proved my supremacy over you? You were only my student to be fashioned into a convenient treasure, not so you could have the delusion of surpassing me."

"Yes. I am plenty foolish, but that is why I won't lose."

This battle will never be known as a legend as if happens out of the world. I will never be given credit as a hero. I will be nameless, yet that is okay.

'Trace on.'

He fires one at a time playing with me. "Now, show me what you have learned. You will soon understand it is nothing. Embrace the depths of your despair!"

"Aghh!"

I am throwing blades through the air. Sharp swords in the shape of claws.

Zarich and Tawrich are blade catchers. Projecting a few dozen of then and then spinning them about is enough to break the trajectory of his assault.

This place is the source of my magic, yet there is a block. A part of me hesitates. A part of me can't acknowledge this is my world, and thus a mental block keeps me from taking the full power of the Reality Marble.

In normal circumstances I would not be able to manifest, so for that same reason, I am unable to truly control it. So I fight him without my full capability.

It is a battle between two men who only have their wills left as power. I will count on that being an advantage to me. If Gilgamesh went all out from the start then I lose, but as he allows me some time to get this engine running I will overtake him in my speed.

I can't keep up at this rate. A human will falter, but a demon... I can not leave out any part of my self.

The more blades he uses, the more blades that I analyze, and the more I send back at him. But I am already drained. There is so much magical energy that even this engine can't keep up and it continues to spiral more and more.

My body starts to turn into nothing. I will become a monster as he wants me to.

"Hahaha! Yes, keep going! You will soon lose control and this world will be forced to expand!" Even if Gilgamesh is defeated, he knows he will achieve victory now. If his spirit is called back to the Holy Grail, then it will be too much and it will break the last thin barrier protecting this world from the great ocean of curses that will cover the world.

Yet that is something I have accounted for. My trump card will not appear until the last moment. It is clouded even to my eyes.

I can't let him surpass me. I have the backing of the weakest Heroic Spirit. For him, will not back down now. I feel an odd tug from my body, as if it was telling me something.

"Of course. I see now." Angra Mainyu didn't leave me. He let me inherit this, hoping I could find the shining path he could not. That means that the one ability he had obtained should also be something I have succeeded.

I will stop holding back that darkness then. Red aura starts to swirl around me.

Avenger (Music) /S046VBHkQ-8

"Aghhjhhh... Aghhhh!" Emiya Shirou screams and becomes something else. A dark shadow with horns, a demon in the flesh. A manifestation of his curse only obtainable in this place. A True Demon that would inspire fear in the hearts of men.

"So you will trade control for power? Excellent, destroy yourself now and bring about the end. I tire of a fake who can do nothing but deface everything he touches. You will become a Beast of Mankind! Soon the world will feel your retribution!"

"Aggghh..." The curse permeates my being. My blood flashes on fire and my body hardens into steel. Yeah, it is easy to lose to this. But I swore I would tread the path of most resistance. "Hah... haah... That is where you are wrong. I don't need to trade anything to take this power." I am in control.

Angra Mainyu isn't possessing me. We are one. This power is something I have overcome, and so I won't have anyone else handling it. The demonic presence reforms into my natural figure. I am a man, not a beast. The difference is that my hair is ashen, and my body is permeated by black tattoos. His spiritual origin empowers me. I recreated it and the world recognizes me with this role.

"What...?" Even Gilgamesh is astonished. "How...?"

"I will not become your beast. Sorry, but that's not something I will allow. You will have to kill me first if you want to see me lose control."

Once someone has overcome a demonic possession and becomes one with that darkness, they will never be overcome by it again. I don't know if there is anyone else who has attained this, but I have.

"Haha hahaha...! How interesting! So be it, faker. Show me if you can make anything of value...! I will destroy it all until you have nothing left!"

The aura of power in me is still not close to the overwhelming strength of Gilgamesh, but it will have to be enough. At this moment, I am channelling the capability of Heroic Spirit Angra Mainyu. The weakest hero of them all, and I now face the strongest.

I will win.

I fire forwards at a speed I have never attained.

'What is this?' Compared to normal, everything feels just that easier. This must be what servants feel. Even if I could push myself to the same limit before, my human limitation would kill me. But for now, those are disregarded. Angry Mainyu's single strength is his agility. Thus I will have to push that to the limits. I jump forward and the real battle begins.

I fight using all the skills I know. The brutality that I have inherited from Angra Mainyu, the kendo from Fuji-ne,e and practical experience saving people. What results is a fighting style full of holes that I make up with speed, projection, and tyranny of will. But the advantage is for him, who can just pull blades from nowhere.

I have to trace them first, don't I? ...I am missing something important, but I have no time to think.

"Tawrich!" I throw my handy knife-claws at him, but he disperses them easily. Something that weak is nothing to him...!

This man is the strongest hero. In a fight between heroes, there is none that can match him. I just have to find an opening...! I'm faster at my best. My best will last not for much longer.

It is hard. I can't reach him. I blow his attack out of the air with all I have. "Haa, this guy...!" This battle is not a battle against him. This is a battle against my body. I will die once the speed and precision of my projection go down.

"Hah―there is no time to rest!"

"...!" In response to his voice, a straight sword points at me. The loaded Noble Phantasm is released at fatal speed...! "...Trace...! ...Guh, gu...!" Unable to deflect the full impact, I fall to the ground. I quickly roll to the side and get up, steadying myself.

"What is wrong? Your quality is going down. You cannot even call it a replica if it will break in one blow."

...He laughs. He's obviously enjoying this. There's no way for me to defend myself if he releases all of the Noble Phantasms behind him. But he releases them one by one, as if to test how much I can take. "Has... Haa, ha..."

...But that's what's keeping me alive right now. It's too hard to project a weapon after seeing it for the first time, even with Tohsaka's backup, even in this world. I can only imitate the shape. I can't recreate the ability inside of it, so it gets destroyed with one blow. I take any sword I can find on the ground and hold them in my hand, slashing and dodging him as close to him as possible.

Six swords intercept me, and I can barely counter them in time. I'm left dodging desperately. Cutting myself on my own swords.

"What? So you're just talk, faker?" He must have liked seeing me roll around, as he looks delighted.

"Ha...a."

...I catch my breath. It's fine as long as he's enjoying this. There's still a chance for me to win... "...Trace, on." I look within myself. I bring out anything I can find. It is close combat. I am boxing with swords, pushing him back and back. The closer I am the fewer weapons he can bring out against me. But it is like fighting against a waterfall.

I mentally lay out as many blueprints as I can.

...I can see seventeen Noble Phantasms behind him. I read the structure from its appearance, draw out the concept of creation, select the composition material-

"Guh...!" I vomit blood.

It's because I'm putting multiple blueprints inside a circuit that usually handles one or two. Magi aren't supposed to be held to such a level. My nerves are bruised since I started projection, and my body is being destroyed from within. My throat tries to pump out the blood that is filling my stomach.

"...Possession experience, sympathy complete." I swallow it and continue with the process. "Reproduction of production technique."

A sword of Ice that freezes the space that it cuts, allowing it to cover the target in ice even if they manage to dodge the actual strike. A Three-Edged Sword that is able to arc behind the opponent to attack them from an unguarded position. An invisible sword. A hammer as big as my entire body. A short sword that automatically aims for the neck. A sword that is conducting lightning. A sword that smells blood and hunt across the plains.

There's only one way for me to block the Noble Phantasms. I need to offset them with the same exact ones...!

Every blade he brings out is traced by my eyes and copied into this world. Each weapon is received by an equal and opposite reaction. The fake and real converge and crash upon one another continuously. When he gets serious once more, I have to project the same number of Noble Phantasms as him to stay alive.

I've already projected more than I have before combined. There are many more to come. But my body will die if I project that many. "...Roll out. Bullet, clear."

I save the overflowing images. ...The overflowing swords are ones that will pierce me from within. Emiya Shirou will be pierced from within if the circuit cannot be controlled. "Oh. You made a lot this time. 10, 15, 17... I see. You reproduced all the Noble Phantasms you can see."

"Wh-at?"

"Do not take me lightly. What sort of hero would I be if I could not see through a magus? I can easily tell how many spells you are working on."

"..."

His words are unexpected. The king of heroes that possesses thousands of Noble Phantasms can figure out my magic just by looking at me? He himself was pushing me along, but why? If I was so intolerable why did he allow me to live on? Was it really so he could try and cleanse this world?

"Then let me grade them. Well―I will not allow any one of them to stay in this world, no matter how good they may be."

Gilgamesh raises his hand.

"Ku...!"

My reaction is delayed. His words caught my attention, creating a hopeless delay...! The seventeen Noble Phantasms are released. 'King's Treasures'. A fraction of them charge in as if to tell me playtime is over...! "...Freeze out, sword bullet full open...!"

"Ha...guh...!"

"Haha, you are holding well with your fragile works, but you should not

be able to last more than a few more blows. Come on, you need to hurry

or you will die."

I hear him laughing behind the swords. Twelve more enemy Noble Phantasms...! "But you sure are foolish. You know you cannot beat me, so that girl went to retrieve the Holy Grail. That decision is correct. You are not even a match for me."

"...!"

My fingertips are burning. The magical energy I emit and the heat from the crashing Noble Phantasms burn my fingertips mercilessly. Seven more Noble Phantasms...!

"But then, why not just kill Sakura? It is a sure way to stop the Holy Grail. I am sure you two had a way to kill her without going across that mud. ...Heh. Such hypocrisy to try to save her. As expected from a lowlife...!" It never even crossed my mind. That is not something I would do.

"Ah...ha, ah..." ...It's burning out. My circuit is completely burning off. I don't have enough. I can't match this man with this small circuit...!

'Expand it then. Stop worrying about the size of your body, and expand yourself to the size of your soul.'

But I have no idea how to do such a thing.

"Damn, why...!?"

Why can't I block them? She said I can beat him. So why am I not even a match?

...Does that mean... I'm making a mistake? Three more Noble Phantasms. Will my body last until I block them? I need to realize what this projection really is...

I need to change this now or...! So I jump. I move beyond the speed possible before surprising him. But showing him my speed is giving up one of my last advantages. I focus on attacking him directly, pushing him into a corner. A slash to the right, and a thrust to the left. I throw my blades as spinning knives that cut him. He is bleeding heavily. He is on the back foot, and I am faster.

There...!

I try stab him, but he matches my sword.

"Mongrel!"

Yet he is stronger. Gilgamesh may be suited best to ranged combat but he had great feats of strength as well. Even if I match his weapons with my own, I can not blow away the man who holds them. I am cut all over too. There is steel sticking out from my left torso but I don't know why. My own condition doesn't matter anymore. This fighting style can only work by using my soul as fuel to push my body beyond its limits. I cannot fight with any regret or I will die with a single mistake.

If I can just keep going...

At that rate, Gilgamesh can be overcome. His energy is starting to buckle as I am taking in even more for myself. I have a limitless reserve that is starting to eclipse even his own. I attack him from all sides. But when I jump back to make a final blow, he makes his move.

All senses freeze at that instant. I don't even pay heed to the approaching blades. The golden Servant is taking out a sword. A strange sword. Not Ea, but similar. I can not follow him to some places. "So you have improved since last time. You said you will save the girl, right? Pathetic I will show you the difference between you and I. Die!"

It is huge. Not the sword of separation, but another blade that Gilgamesh calls his own.

I try to analyze it. No... my eyes don't make it that far before they burn out. My eyes try to piece through it's harder, but I suffer feedback and nearly go blind. 'Rejected. Human limitation reached.' The limit of what a human can see, I reach it and I can't follow him. I am forced to flinch and look away.

"Show me. Show me what you can save with your imitations!" A storm of chaos. The earthquake emitted from his sword even blows away his own Noble Phantasms as it comes at me.

'Oh. I can't project this one. I lose.'

"Ig-Alima!" It is twice the size of the man holding it. If not for his supernatural strength it would be impossible to hold. A blade that cuts mountains is aimed toward me. The world is torn asunder. I am pushed away and down from the mountain.

...I fall to the ground, and down the hill, being slashed by my own blades. I fly through the air and crash to the ground with great force. I don't feel pain from the landing. I don't have such a sense anymore. Even my mind is going blank.

...Before I die. The only thing filling my head is the surprise that my limbs are still attached.

"So that is all you can manage? I guess a fraud is just a fraud. You cannot save anyone." ...My heartbeat gets weaker. My lungs do not move, rendering me unable to breathe. I can't see anything, but it seems it's not because my eyes are broken. Darkness is taking my vision and the truth they see is defeat. My organs are just too messed up to function as they should. Maybe it's fortunate. I don't have any sense of pain, so I should be able to die easily... "...Oh. I remember, now that I think about it. That man and your whore mother believed in such a lie. Your ideal is a farce of a failure. How conceited of you to think that you can manage anything when you have nothing you created yourself."

"..."

...I can't do that. Even if I might go crazy from the pain, I need to regain my consciousness. The deep part of me says so as it points to that place. A shining sword is next to me.

"A superhero? A world where no one gets hurt? Ridiculous. No world can preserve happiness without harming anyone. Humans cannot live without sacrifices. You must understand that, as you are a human sacrifice yourself. 'Peace' is a myth created by those who cower in fear of the dark. ...You lowlife. Your ideal is just an excuse to cover up your ugliness. Now, wallow in this darkness and become the herald of a new age for mankind...!"

"..."

Ever-present feeling (Music) /3L1DEvzsftw

I raise my arm which should not be moving. I take hold of something. My fallen body and my dying mind. I raise my hand to grab something like I did on that day.

...I don't know what's funny, but someone's laughing. It seems like everyone in this world is laughing. A fake wish. A borrowed ideal. Someone scorning me, saying that my dream won't come true.

'Fake. Fake. Fake.'

...Yes, that's exactly right. My wishes are all borrowed. I just admired the wish of wanting to help someone because it's beautiful. So there's nothing that came from within me. I'm not really Angra Mainyu. The real devil wouldn't strive to create good out of this evil. ...There never was a real Angra Mainyu. His sacrifice amounted to nothing. He was a hero for a village for a small time, only because they were so miserable that he was their only respite.

All I can see is a picture, but a picture is not something that one can truly hold in one's hand.

My ideals has no true basis. My pain was the cause and purpose of everything. My body has always been driven by a curse-like obsession with helping others. I took all the pain I could into myself. Not because I liked it, no, so I could repay for the happiness I did not feel I deserved. That's why it's a fake. Such an imitation cannot save anything. First of all, I'm not sure what needs to be saved.

But.

But I still felt that it's beautiful. It was not born from within me. I just saw someone save others and copied that behaviour. I was empty back then. Everyone died, and I could not save anyone. I could not bear the fear in front of me unless I gave up, saying that humans are weak. And yet that man smiled, he was sad, yet he believed in something. That's why... That's why I admired the ideal. Because it was something I did not have, and its sanctity brought tears to my eyes. Is that wrong? Is it a fake if it's not mine? Even if my wish is fake, is it wrong for it to come true?

...No. I don't think it's wrong.

Yes. I am ugly, and I cover myself in this so I don't have to burn out. "Ah... Ah." I don't care, even if it's fake. I'll make it come true, even if it's an impossible ideal. It's an impossible wish from the start. An unreachable utopia. A green sky that one can only imagine when they are engrossed in burning black smoke. ...Then, even if Emiya Shirou is a fake... What's there has to be true. Because what a fake can accomplish can be far greater than the original.

"...That's right. I already knew that."

I know that I can't save everything. I know that there's no help without sacrifices. I know that reality is like that because I grew up. I have seen people suffer without reprieve, and others inflict pain needlessly. I know it's only an ideal, but I still continue to seek it. It's not the end after someone gets hurt. Even if the best possible outcome has someone get hurt to save many others, I still want to pursue a resolution where nobody is hurt.

So I reject it.

That there is no justice in this world, and that people die meaninglessly in reality... I don't think such words are right...! There is value even in nothingness! The real Angra Mainyu is here. He reached this radiant image. That is what I believe in. ...What I believed in. He said that they are all fakes. But the one who said so followed through on his hypocrisy. Angra Mainyu, the one who hated heroes most of all, was a hero until the very end.

...Then I can keep going. I don't care, even if it's a fake. First of all, I'm too simple-minded to worry about such a thing. I make up my mind on this hill of swords. ...That if I can save the world in front of me, I will fight for it. I didn't even need to think about it. My world is small. This small yet unlimited 'world' is all I have ever been able to create.

(Music Stop)

...That's right. I am the bone of my sword. ...Yes, so I can endure most things. Emiya Shirou can keep his dream until the very end. ...Even if... What I seek is nowhere.

"...So that's it!" He yells.

"...!?"

I raise my body. I can move my limbs again as soon as my consciousness returns. My body still moves. It's a wonder that I'm still alive, let alone moving, after his attack, but I don't care. If I'm alive, there must be a reason why. It's just that I don't know why.

"...You are rather tenacious, boy. You must have projected some kind of shield to protect yourself. I was reluctant to bring that out."

"You were reluctant...? Heh, what's there to hold back when you have so many weapons?" I keep my distance while I catch my breath.

"...Heh. That was a sword that only a God-king is allowed to use. I showed it to you for the fun of it, but it is not something to be used against you. Only Artoria and Arcueid are worthy to fight against it." He acknowledges Arcuied in her ability at least. 'Artoria...? Where have I heard that before?' No time to think about that.

"Now, the conditions are all met. The Grail is strong enough now, and this place is now the center of it's power. All you need to do is make a wish, and the power to defeat me is yours." But then Sakura will die. The world would be covered in curses that no one should ever feel.

"No."

"As expected. Now, let us end this!" Numerous Noble Phantasms appear. But they are all third-rate. The difference is obvious after seeing that previous sword. But they are not something I can take lightly. They are more than enough to kill me. To be honest, I have been holding back. I didn't realize it, but I'm still afraid of death.

That means there are some weapons I still refuse to see. This world is me. A reflection of what lies in my own heart. The power I have is only due to the level I can sacrifice.

Emiya (Music) /cUs8FEsDUZ4

"...Imitations, faker, huh? Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad. I certainly am a faker." I raise my arm. I close one eye and look inside of me.

"Hm...?"

"...I had the wrong idea. My magic isn't creating swords. First of all, I can't do such a skilful thing." That's right. Tohsaka said it too. I can only use one kind of magic. Strengthening and projection are just a byproduct of it. "...That's right. There's only one thing I can do, and that is to put shape to my mind." The whole world starts to shift. It finally knows its master, and I am willing to accept it. Both darkness and light. "I have lived with six billion curses..." The magical energy rages around. But I don't care. This body is a circuit specialized to use this 'one magic' from the start. Then there should be more. There should be something beyond this if I can't make it with this circuit. ...No, it is already there. It's just that I can't see it. There was no limitation to the circuit from the start. If it was darkness, not a wall, that stopped the magical energy... Then the limit is somewhere beyond the darkness.

"I see. I am done with hearing your nonsense."

Even though I managed to survive the previous attack, I cannot match that Servant with my half-hearted projection.

The swarm of swords batter against the shield. The shield is me myself. My body breaks up as each layer is broken. All seven seals of the evil fall easily. But it will give me enough time.

I have accepted the darkness, but the light is yet incomplete. And until that day I can hold the light in my heart, I can not say that this picture is complete. And so I can not grasp the full power of this world, and I can not give it its true name. Not because I am unwilling, but because there is still something missing. But that is fine, because I believe in that day in which the light will break across the night into unlimited harmony. It is a partial answer, but it will have to be enough.

If only there was a blade copied into this world that could embody such a will. What I need is something that I truly believe in. A sword that will embody my newfound burning will and turn it into power.

...Then I realize what my hand had been holding all that time. When all light had faded, I put my hand out and held something, anything. There was something I held onto.

The gold and blue longsword. Something I have certainly never seen, yet it is here. The first sword that I remember as Emiya Shirou. One that was at the bottom of the slope, always out of reach, until I was cast down from that lonely hill.

The sword in the stone is in my hand, waiting for me to pull it out. A golden sword that is so familiar. It was always out of sight, an unavailable dream. Something that was waiting to be held. Not by me, but by its true wielder. Just this time. I must pull it from the stone. Just thing time, I will cut through the nothingness and fund the meaning of this blade. I have never seen it myself, so why is it here...?

...A cursed sword. A blade which no longer exists. Ah... I see. For a sword that is lost, this would be the place it would find itself, a graveyard. Yes... even the path of light is one that has a curse.

There is a solemn sacrifice in this blade that flashes in my mind as I take a hold of its pommel. 'You should think this through before you grab that.' He says he is not trying to frighten her, but that she should stop. 'You will not be human once you take hold of the sword.' He also said that she would be resented by all humanity and die a miserable death. A blade lost to time. Its history is not mine, so all I can do is try now to recreate it with my own.

In order to shine, one must accept that you will end in darkness.

That is the true essence of the perfect blade. The soul of a Cursed Sword.

'Will you heed my call?' I may not be the true wielder of this blade. All I am fitted for is to act as its sheath until the promised time. 'Just this once let me bring light to this world!'

I place my hands on its handle and pull hard.

'...Hmph. I'll allow it. Just this time, and only for you.' A far voice seems to say in the wind, coming from that green utopia in the sky.

The magical energy rages around. But I don't care. This body is a circuit specialized to use this 'one magic' from the start. Every sword exists in this world, as swords are reproduced just at a glance. The truth behind them lies not in reproducing them but in gaining sympathy.

The sword comes out of the stone without effort and fits into my hands perfectly. A golden sword that embodies the shining path. When Arcueid sees it, she wakes up and the puzzle finally fits all into place. "That is..." The true light of the Earth is embodied in ancient Magecraft and given to humans to protect the world. Yet lost with time as man turn on the world, and lost their way.

Gilgamesh is upset. "What? That sword, how can you...!?"

"There's no need to be surprised. These are all imitations. As you say, these are all trifling swords. But there is no rule that an imitation cannot defeat the original. If you say you are the original, I shall surpass every one of your weapons and destroy your existence." I move forward. In front of me is the Servant with a thousand treasures. "Here I come, king of heroes―do you have enough weapons in stock?"

"Hah―you forget your place, lowlife...!" The enemy opens the "gate" and readies numerous Noble Phantasms. I run across the deserted land. The two groups of swords start the final match. The instant I see his Noble Phantasm, I reel in the exact same one and swing it with all my might...! In one hand I bring the exact copy and in the other, I hold the golden blade. I cut through each weapon with my own will and strength behind it. "Impossible... am I being cornered by such a sham...!?"

"Fuh, hah...!" The sounds of swords crashing echo through the area. He cannot handle my attacks and has to destroy my weapon with his. ...That will be the cause of his defeat. He is the greatest heroic spirit, as he has over a thousand Noble Phantasms at his leisure. But he is only an 'owner'. He does not have one weapon, so he is not a "wielder" who can use his weapon to its maximum potential.

My weapons return to me faster than he can bring new ones.

"Damn―Damn, damn damn damn...! I did not think I would have to use my sword against a lowlife like you again...!" Gilgamesh raises his hand. The sword appearing behind him is a demonic sword, the sword that does not exist in this world...! But don't think that I can't follow you into that hell! That was it. The moment in which the battle was decided. It had to be then.

"Sword of Selection, grant me power! Caliburn~!" I know that this is right. So even though this means my end... To have reached this blade once...

"Gah...!?" The Noble Phantasms are all blown away and the light incinerates all leading back to the Golden King. Without warning, Gilgamesh is blown away. He could not take out his greatest weapon in time, and his armour is already gone. For all his great vision, he did not foresee what would come to pass. Yet even then, I know he will survive it and my loss is absolute. If he reaches that blade in time. The conditions are all met now. Angry Mainyu's single skill as a servant is a pointless one. In a situation where defeat is certain, trade everything to reach out to the level of the divine.

"Annihilation Wish!" A skill that only applies as I have no chance of survival and a willingness to die. The full power of this world centers on me. The furnace incinerates me, and I reach the level of Gilgamesh and Arcuied; time slows down to a crawl. I start running. My speed starts to fold into itself infinitely, and I fire at him like a bullet. Of course, self-destruction awaits at the end, but in the last few seconds before burning out, I can match even a first-rate servant.

I slice.

"Wha..." The weapons stop. His arm and sword fall to the ground, leaving him defenceless.

"Haa...!" I slash at him to finish it.

He jumps back, barely dodging my last killing blows. "Hahaha... Hahaha...! I will not die...! Hahaha...! You can't kill me or your precious Holy Grail will be overwhelmed!"

Gilgamesh's death will lead to the same conclusion as his victory. His energy will move to the Holy Grail, Sakura, and complete the last part of this twisted ritual to give birth to the Angra Mainyu copied inside of me. But... I knew all that. I had a trump card just for this situation. "Yes. But I do not intend on allowing your spirit to go so far."

My body acts before I can think. My trump card enters my hands. Writhing blood assemblies as hard as steel. It is the sword of Chaos, built from his inhuman curse. I wield it with Caliburn in my other hand. They are both longswords, but somehow they even each other out. It is truly the joining of light and darkness. Confident in my victory, my limbs move to slash the king of heroes... "What...!?" He jumps back. Barely avoiding the swords, Gilgamesh retreats still further. "Kuh...you are stronger than me here...!"

Gilgamesh admits his defeat and tries to retreat. "I won't let-" I won't let him escape. I'll lose if he regains his composure. I have to settle the match right here...! "-You go...!" He must have realized he will not be able to escape, as he pulls out a Noble Phantasm from behind him. But I'm faster. Chaos Impales him where his heart is, and that is the end.

(Music stop)

"...How...?" Could I lose? He tries to say. How could the greatest hero lose to the weakest? The most ancient and legendary to a nameless hero of the future?

"How did I know you could not win? It was when you could no longer call Enkidu your friend. I knew that I had a chance to match you. You had lost your greatest strength."

"You...!" Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh can not accept this end. "What is this...!?" Gilgamesh could not do anything, as if he were paralyzed. His spiritual essence was being drained into the sword. "What is this...!?"

This weapon is one that he has no copy of in his treasury. ...Because this sword has never been real. "The blade I made using the blood of Chaos. It does exactly what you would expect it would. Only a curse as potent as an Ancestor's would be able to hold your soul. You may have all the real treasures in the world, but I hold all the fakes."

Gilgamesh is being consumed by the sword.

A black void.

A void big enough to swallow a human being. It appears before me, right on Gilgamesh. "Wh...at?" Gilgamesh looks down at his body in astonishment. ...His body is being swallowed. The golden Servant is swallowed by the void appearing on his body. The void mercilessly swallows the Servant.

...There was no way for him to escape. The void was open on his body. There is no way one can escape something that is on their body. "Let this be the fulfilment of my promise to you. Humanity does not need you to confirm their darkness anymore. This curse is not yours to obtain. Take it. We don't need it anymore. You wanted to have all the evil of the world, so take it...!" It is my treasure, and I will keep it until it can come to see the dawn. This will be the end of this curse. "You don't need to push humanity towards the stars... because no matter their end, it has value... but only as long as that is their own will. A leader like you pulling humanity to the future, no matter the cost... was only needed at the beginning. Thank you, but it's time for you to go now."

That is it. It's over. I am tired. I need to fall over. "...Right. I guess..." I can rest a bit. And after I take a deep breath...

Nightmare (Music) /Q1cRk5CQRN4

"What...!?" A chain wraps around my arm. "...!" I gasp. The chain drags my body towards the void. "Ah, kuh...!" I put power into my body, but I can't resist. My feet slide across the ground towards the void...!

"Ku... fool. Does it not know Servants cannot be assimilated...!? I can't become the core! You...!" He's appearing from the void. But―his body has melted here and there. So that void must melt everything it swallows...! "Pull me!" This chain even restrained Arcuied. It's not something I can pry off...!

"Ah, guh..." I'm being pulled towards it...! I'll be swallowed like him if I go near that void...! "Damn, are you trying to take me with you...!?"

"Hah, I have no intention of dying...! Stay right there until I pull myself out, you Mongrel!"

"You..." He's arrogant even in this situation...! I can't let him get off this now...! "Oh... damn... " But what can I do? I can't get this chain off of me. I'll be swallowed into that void along with him. Even if I hold my ground, he'll pull himself out.

It means I'm going to die either way...

"...! Haa..." I feel dizzy. I can't brace myself anymore. ...I'll die. I can't endure it at the very end. Should I loosen up since I can't brace myself? If I do so, I should be able to push him back into the void... "...Don't take me so lightly...! I won't let you take me with you...!" I gather my courage. Will my arm rip off first, will his chain rip off first, or will he come out first? I don't care either way. I'll fight until the very end and die gallantly...! My death is certain now. If I push him in now, then I will ensure he will be sucked into that Chaos, and I will go with him.

Then...

"Down, Shirou." She says, and I do so. White covers my vision as she arrives. Arcueid, in only a moment, decapitates Gilgamesh. There is a suction of air as his essence is consumed into the blade, and then... nothing.

"..." His spirit will not return to the Grail, and thus I have averted the final hurdle. Everyone is safe... 'Ah...' Feeling that, my exhaustion consumes me. I fall to my knees. I am covered in ash.

"Grrrh..." When I move, it feels like the creaking of rusted steel. This is the reparation for victory. 'Ah...!' My blood vessels burst, and It sounds like there is a rice cooker inside me. My whole body aches, and I am bleeding all over. Everything is ringing. The world begins to lose colour as if it were being wiped away by rain, and being swallowed into a great dark sea that has nothing in it. It's not black or white. It's the colour of nothing.

Everything loses its luster. My mind, my body, my soul. Everything was traded so I could shine like the sun for a few seconds. "Sorry... everyone..."

I see a white figure above me, even as everything else fades away.

"Rest now, Shirou. Now it is just you and me, so you don't have to worry anymore."

---

Stranger (Music) _zJBSNM77rQ

Reaching Sakura was impossible. Logically it was something not to be attempted. The ocean of curses copied into the Reality Marble were as potent as the real thing. The only consolation was that it was a thin layer that could be walked through, as if it were tempting people to try and make it. Sakura lay in the middle of that darkness. Perhaps due to her own connection to this curse, she was summoned into this reality in the midst of that sea. And so, Tohsaka Rin, unable to do anything else, must reach her and pull her out of it. It was illogical to try, but Tohsaka was far past that. This was something more important than her own life.

She struggles through the sea of tainted meat. The lake isn't even a meter deep. Chunks of flesh carpet the bottom, so she only sinks up to her knees. "...Ah, this is too disgusting...!" She grumbles as she breathes hard. Every step brings a chill as if she's treading on piles of insects. If she stops moving, the taint on her skin begins to solidify and consume her. "...! Geez, damn it...!"

She shakes it off with all her might and keeps going. It is almost impossible to keep wading through the rottenness while still keeping her sanity. After this, she shouldn't even be scared of butchering cattle at the slaughterhouse. Slaughtering a cow would be simple now. So she's getting used to this work now. She is so tense that she'll stop moving once she stops treating this as work. But at least there is no mental damage this way.

"...Ha, haa, ah..." But she cannot endure it with just willpower.

Her temperature rises with each step. The meat on her legs attacks her nerves instantly. Even if she flings it off, the poison has already entered her system. Curse. The malice is almost tangible, and it feels like a disease. One will get sick when touched by it. It taints the nerve, takes away energy, boils the brain, and kills within one step. A normal person would stop moving after two steps and would fall into the sea of does not know what would happen after that. She doesn't even want to consider whether she would be suffocated or absorbed into the poisoned flesh. Her mind is too overcome with heat even to think about it.

"Huh...man..." She braces her staggering feet and keeps moving forward. ...Rin did not enter the pool of mud without a plan. She swallowed two jewels and is using all of the magical energy she saved up to defend herself. She was already drained before all this, however, and she is struggling against her own limitations. If this curse is a crystallization of pure magical energy, she should be able to repel it with strong magical energy of her own. "Ku―this is... bad..." ...Her vision wavers.

Her guess was right, but her scale was off. The swallowed jewels are as good as a paper shield against the curse. This is not something a human can fight against. No human can ward off this curse. ...In here... One's belief in oneself is the only support of their life.

'Sakura survived this... Emiya survived this...' She just had to match him here and there was nothing that she would not be able to follow him on. 'Aggg...' But it was so painful. "Ah...gu...geez... Jumping into a sea of fire is colder than this." With her jewels' protection, jumping into a sea of fire would be no problem. As soon as she complains... "...!" She gets angry at herself and sets her mind straight. It's not true. She cannot be complaining. She concentrates on the sounds behind her. ...She cannot see the two anymore. She doesn't know if Shirou moved the battleground away or if he's just cornered.

She runs. It's only as fast as walking, but she frantically moves her feet. She pushes her way through the tainted meat. Her breathing ragged, she reaches out. "Hah, got it...!" She climbs up. She can feel the mountain of meat. "...Oh. It seems it's better here." She lays on the pulsing ground. This feels even nastier, but the heat violating her nerves goes away. "...? Wait... could this be...?" She puts her finger on the red ground.

...It is the same as the black mud, but it has form. It is the heart of the beast that would swallow the world, and Sakura is certainly at the center of it. As long as she despairs, then she will not resist it, and the cycle will continue until everything is ground down into ash. Tohsaka pushes through the viscous ground and squirms her way forwards to make things right.

...

Sakura never stopped crying even after being brought to the very world where the sea of curses was held. She cried and cried, losing herself in her own despair. She must have gone so. insane that she begins to hear her sister's voice again. It is softer than before, as if she was looking down at her as no longer being a threat. Sakura is sure that she has killed her. Sakura is sure that this is the end.

Having achieved nothing in life, she tries to take solace that she will die soon... but Sakura can not imagine that it will be better. Sakura had been empty trash all her life, so dying and losing everything would be no change. Sakura knew that she would feel this way forever now, and that there would be no end to it. If she knew that this was it, then she swears that she would have stayed in the wormpit forever, never hoping for me.

'Is that... really what I wanted...?' Of course not. She wanted to live. She wanted to stay with her Senpai and Nee-san. Even Ilya, Irisviel and Kiritsugu. She wanted it to stay like that forever. Nothing would have ever been gained, but nothing would have ever been lost.

"Isn't this what you wished for?"

"..." A chill runs down Sakura's back. She knows that wicked voice.

"Why not? You are meddling with the Grail, aren't you? It is almost time to complete it. I didn't expect or wish for it to be in this way, but such is life." SHe shrugs as if it is not her problem.

"Y-y-you...! ...I-Irisviel."

"The one and only. Now don't change the subject, I wanted to understand. You were wishing for the pain to go away, and for retribution to be done. You are such a good vessel for Angra Mainyu; your wishes line up to be exactly the same. So why have second thoughts now? It will just prolong your suffering, won't it?"

"That is... I... I don't want that. I don't want anyone to be hurt but me."

"Haha. It is a tiny bit too late for that, isn't it? You ruined my repair job on Shinji-kun's head; you destroyed little Issei-kun's home; how many people did you consume to keep yourself sane? What did Shirou look like when you left him? What did you do to your Nee-san when she tried to break you out of this curse? What sins were committed? Who was that?"

'I know. It was me,' It doesn't matter if there was no control. It doesn't matter if her body sought out sustenance simply to live... If she truly didn't want it to happen, then she would have killed herself before it got to this point. "Kill me... please... It was all me. I was the source of evil, so kill me already...!"

"Nope. Even if it were true, I'd still refuse. I know a thing or two about doing something unforgivable. No, I have had time to think of a far crueller fate for one such as you." Irisviel turned her eyes to Sakura and gave her the coldest look she had ever seen. "...There is no salvation in death. Because you will never find it for yourself no matter where you look, but while you still live, there are still those who need you to guide them to it."

"...!" Impossible. It is something Matou Sakura can not allow herself to do. ...Because no matter what, she knows she can never fill her sister's role. So she can not live with that emptiness next to her. Sakura's expression is truly broken. She has lost everything. Since she became Matou Sakura, this is her lowest point, closest to nothing.

"Hah. I see. You are spoiled. You break a toy, and now you are crying because you are wishing it was back. ...But I am a merciful woman and a caring mother. Just this once, I'll show you what true power looks like. I will show you a miracle that only you and I can attain in this very moment."

"Only... me...?"

"Yes, true resurrection. I will give you back anyone that is now gone from this world. ...You seem not to believe, you doubt my power?"

"E-even True Magic can not give that... Y-you couldn't get what you wanted either...! You were so strong, and yet... even you couldn't get anything..."

"Ohohohoho. Just because I lost it all in end doesn't mean I never attained anything. ...I am a wish-granter, but not for myself. What is it you wish for, Sakura? Wish for it now or forever live in silence."

"I-impossible..." No. I can't.

"Miracles don't exist. Miracles don't exist. Miracles don't exist. Miracles don't exist."

But it can't hurt, can it...? This is the end now, so what is a little more pain? But I'm so tired. I can't...

"So, Sakura. You wish for nothing then. ...I'm not disappointed. You were nothing from the start, weren't you? You never had anything, so you will never gain anything." That is just a fact. ...But Senpai said he would never forgive her if she acknowledged she was nothing. Is it really alright to end in such disgrace when one final plea can be made? Irisviel is leaving. Sakura will be left alone.

So, Sakura speaks up, fighting against her own self-hatred. "W-wait...! ...I-I wish Nee-san would come back...! Let her live, even if I have to die...!" 'She accepted me, so how can I let her leave me all alone now...! I know I am a crybaby, but please... I would trade anything if only... Some things will never be taken back, but if it was just one... If one miracle occurred in front of my face, I would never question it again. I wouldn't give up even on the impossible things. I wouldn't complain about my everyday...!'

Irisviel acts unconvinced. "Hmm. Well, I can't say. It depends on if your heart was truly in it. If she does happen to return, then it means there must be something in you that has some value."

"W...hat?" So the hope was all pointless?

"Obviously, did you truly believe this delusion? Pathetic girl. You are trash, so you will gain nothing. You can only lose."

"Hope is a fickle thing. It gives and takes, as you know better than anyone. So if it does come true, then it must mean I really am all-powerful, and you will be indebted to me for all time. I have nothing, and yet you are blind to the something right in front of you. Haha. Indeed, you are unforgivable. To those who are dead, the living will always be so. So I condemn to a new sentence added onto the last, this time for life: look after yourself, Sakura. See you later."

"W-ait...! Don't go... Don't leave me..." She wanted someone to comfort her until the end, but that was impossible. Sakura believes she is the last person in this world now. 'Senpai couldn't have survived until now.' All she had were delusions for company. 'That couldn't have been the real Irisviel, of course. She is gone, and I am making use of her image to torture myself.'

"Miracle? Give me a break. Stop falling for the easiest of traps over and over, and perhaps you wouldn't have fallen into this mess. You are just that stupid. live on? How can you live on like this?"

Sakura returns to crying in a fetal position. "I know...! I-I can't do that now...! I can't do that if there is no one to guide me out of it...!" But the woman was gone as if she were never even there. There was the sound of a beating heart. The flesh that will be born to eat the world will be born from her own malice commanding it. The Grail was purified, so it was only Sakura who was impure. "...What do I do now?" She is now ready to fall into the oblivion past this world.

"What indeed?" A hard voice came from behind.

"...Huh?"

"Don't look! Don't look! Don't look! Don't look!"

If you look then the hope will return.

"Don't hope. Don't hope. Don't hope. Don't hope."

If you hope then admit that you really are unforgivable. You won't be able to lie about it ever again.

"Don't let go. Don't let go. Don't let go. Don't let go."

"Yeah, it's just a lie. I drowned Nee-san like a bug... She couldn't do anything... I broke it, so it won't ever return."

But the voice... didn't leave... "Oh really? Don't be too full of yourself. If something broke because you acted out, then it was already fragile in the first place. The makeshift family between Matou, Tohsaka and Emiya was not going to last as it was forever. ...There was enough denial in that group that it would have broken apart at the first sign of trouble. You were never the source of it."

"Be quiet... Nee-san would never say this...! She would never excuse me!" Sakura covers her ears.

Rin forces her to listen. Her hands are taken forcibly to her side.

"And how would you know what she would say? Was I excusing you? No. You will never find forgiveness for your deeds. But that is a part of living. It was the you of before who acted as if she was innocent, which led to the unfortunate belief that you were just now going bad. All those years of denial... that is not living. You were just paying back for all that time. Hmph, this is the first time I've seen you acting for yourself for a change. Who are you crying for? For your sister, for your brother, for Shirou?"

"...Myself. For... me..." Not Senpai or anything else. Sakura was crying for her own sake for the first time since she had been given to the Matou family. "But it doesn't matter now...! I killed you... I killed you! It makes no sense...! If you are not there, then I can't ever become anything... I'm stupid, and I need someone to judge myself off of."

"Killed me? Who said that? You never even had a chance of beating me for a second." Tohsaka smiles cruelly.

"Please...! Stop being so cruel...!" Sakura creates a field of visible curses to destroy the vision of her sister. "I will kill this illusion over and over if I have to...! I won't let her image be used like this!"

Sakura lashes out with curses, yet they deflect off Rin effortlessly. Rin is done allowing her sister to be alone in a tantrum. It was time for the big sister to show her strength and not let her little sister get away with making mistakes over and over. Tohsaka forces Sakura easily into her arms, but this time she has no intention of letting go. Tohsaka takes responsibility for her family once and for all. If Shirou was going to find his own answer to his question, then Tohsaka has no intention of falling behind.

"I can't... I'm weak and stupid... I can't hope. No more..."

Tohsaka shrugs. "Oh, well, if that is what you wish. Shirou and I will probably die if you don't stand up now. You say that hope is the cruellest thing there is, but I've always seen it as an amazing thing. It is a privilege because even without hope, I will charge relentlessly forwards without regret... Hope really is a privilege."

"Huh?" No- Sakura realizes her own weakness. It wasn't that hope was evil and cruel, it was that she had always been too weak to really believe in anything with a full heart. She did everything half-heartedly. Her relationship with Senpai, Nee-san, Taiga, Ilya-san and even Nii-san. She did as she thought she was supposed to and began to play into the role of Matou Sakura. If only she had bared her real emotions from the start, then it would have all been different. It has just been so difficult to regain her footing as a person that she began confusing the role she gave herself with her true self. The real Sakura had been buried for nine years, and this tantrum was her awakening. Now she has done cruel things that can never be taken back, and she broke the fragile stability thoroughly. Hope was a privilege and she broke it so casually.

Hope was not evil, and yet she refused to accept it as anything but.

"Yes. Things will never return to as they were. You've done unforgivable things, Sakura. All that remains now is who you will live on as in the future, because Shirou... and I forbid you from dying. Will you lose yourself as a monster, or will you take my hand and let me mould you into someone worthy of being known as my sister? ...Let's get out of this horrible place already." Tohsaka is long since tired of trekking through mud and flesh, and being in the heart of it all is making her anxious.

Sakura can sense her sister's worry, but somehow it makes her feel more assured. "...!" The curse is wrapped around Sakura's heart. It will never leave her, just like Shirou it is imprinted into her very being. Redemption will never be attained, but that is fine, Sakura realizes.

There are a few things that only she can do.

She has lost her final excuse. Because a miracle came to be, one of her guides came back for her.

Sakura finally sees the truth Shirou was trying to teach her all along. Lofty ideas about being innocent are only for those with no sense of self. Sakura was an empty shell for so many years that she forgot this truth. She lived in denial of her suffering for so long that she lost track of what was most important and hid away from it behind a mask of lies. Even if the truth and the future will be ugly, she is being told that it will be hers to bear, and she will not be alone in surviving it. 'If I can be your sister... and we can all be a family...' Then maybe living on was possible. She was saved years ago, and now she has to accept that.

Sakura grabs her sister's hand, and she accepts living for the first time in nine years.

---

False Transmigration (Music) /c1sZ2q1ZFUY

All I can tell is that I am under a hot sun, and the world is a lonely place where swords are buried in the ground. 'Am I forgetting something important?" I don't know where and are. I can't think straight, and I need to make sure they are safe, but all that is left is my determined yet broken body. All I can do is give power to hope, and believe that they remain.

'Even if I will fade here... as long as they are fine...' Then this plan which I lost control of very quickly will have been worth it. Even though it took great sacrifice, turning on my own ideals... That enemy is gone, and may finally be able to move on from this curse.

'Who?'

Who was I trying to free from her curse?

Everything feels strange, and as if to represent my own mind, the entire world is enveloped in a great fog. The green sky is gone and all that remains is the encroaching darkness.

'Return to us. Return to us. Return to us.'

"No." I shamble to my feet and fall backwards. I know I can't let myself be swallowed by it, even if I don't recall why.

'Come back. Come Back. Come Back.' They want me to burn with them forever. That fire of the past that swallowed everyone alive.

I can't.

'Give up. Give up. Give up.'

■ won't.

'Lose yourself in it. Forget who you were, and take on the role.'

No... If can't remember who ■ am, all that is left is this nothingness...!

'Become an effigy that will burn the world's sins away! Become nothing!'

All that will remain is Angra Mainyu, and ■ will become nothing but the manifestation of these curses on the world.

Who ■ am ? ■ am...

There was a sword, and it was bright. But what colour was it? ■ can't remember what colour it was, so can't cling to the hope it used to give ■■.

The hope that ■ could remain ■■ even when was always suffering from this curse that consumed your sense of self. So ■ could never let ■■ guard down, but that is too late now.

"■ have to remember...! Why can't ■ remember...!?"

The darkness reaches out for me. ■ have lost sight of everything except for this colour of nothing, ■■ eyes can see no more shining path. Just... nothing.

And then...

"Shirou." hear a woman's voice say a name, and the night is dispelled instantly. She is blazing in the dark, her blond hair and red eyes become the only colours can latch onto.

What? "Who... are you?"

"Arcuied Brunestud, have you already forgotten me?" She seems mad.

"And... who am ■?"

Then she seems sad. "I see. ...You are Emiya Shirou. That is all you are. Don't let it consume you; wouldn't that be very pathetic after all that? ...You are not the only one trying your best not to let go. Isn't it selfish to lose like that?"

There is a noticeable space between us as if she is keeping a conscious distance away from me.

"Hah... Hahaha." I laugh. "Yeah. That would be a really pathetic showing." I remember enough to keep going on. I won't let such a weak curse like this take me over now that I have shown I can reach out and seize this power.

Now all that is left is her. She saunters toward me, looking perfect. She is the same as me, yet in a far superior way. I can only grasp a small part of the true limits of the soul, while she has the greatest soul of them all, holding the hopes and dreams and history of the entire world inside of her. All I can manage is the evil parts of a single species.

My eyes read her as in a deep conflict within herself. That is all they can manage looking at this alien existence. I don't think my eyes will ever truly be able to understand and become accustomed to her, but they have changed to see glimpses of her truth. Of what I do see, it is the parts I can most understand. A long duty that has seen only defeat, a hope that died before she even realised she had it, a love for things she knows will never love her back.

Words are lacking in what we should say.

"Arcueid..."

Why is this Reality Marble still here... It should have been dispelled as soon as Gilgamesh was defeated. Chaos remains in my hands. It feels more powerful but in a dangerous way. I doubt I will ever use it again. No- I definitely won't. Caliburn is gone. Likely back to its rightful place awaiting its true owner.

"Yes. I came, Shirou. I saved you... Ah, what is this feeling?" She seems to bask in the warmth of this place. "I don't want to leave."

"...I understand why you came, and I am truly grateful for what you did. Whatever judgment you have come to, I will accept it. ...I am too exhausted to contest you, regardless."

She shakes her head. "Are you sure I came for the reason you think I did? I came here to see you again. I haven't gotten my answer yet."

"Huh? What...?"

"Don't make me say it again! Don't be a baka..."

"Answer...? But to what?" What did she ask me?

"I don't know, and that is the problem! This is not how I had imagined this going... You were supposed to give me clarity, but now I feel that the contradiction is only becoming worse. You need to take responsibility and fix what you caused. I hate you. I really hate you..."

I didn't see it until now, but she is really struggling. I was too busy to think hard as to why she was even here. She is fighting so hard. It isn't a fight she can win, because her enemy is herself. Her eyes have madness in them. The moon is said to be the source of insanity, so perhaps a spirit of the moon would also have such a side.

"Why would you save me then?"

"I do hate you... I can't help but hold you responsible for the pollution and destruction of mankind in the world. But that is why...! You must come with me. Because...! Because... um. You are something I won't... can't let go of. Not until I can understand why you can live like that. So... I've decided to take you with me to my castle. ...You won't have to suffer anymore. I can guard you against Alaya and the demands of humans. Isn't it tiresome...? That mission... you're just going to toil forever, never reaching what you are looking for." Her heart opens. Arcueid's soul becomes dependent on my answer. "Yes. Come with me, Shirou. I won't have to hate you anymore if you come with me. I won't blame you, and you can be free of it."

The logic is so bad that even she can't convince herself.

I sigh. "Hah..." I see now. This is what I have wrought by bringing her this far. The critical moment is now, but it will be the hardest thing I have ever done. I grant wishes only when they won't lead to self-destruction.

I'm already broken. What is a little more to end this night of fate?

Blood princess Dance (Music) /HSXyV_6Irs

"..." She looks at me with clear desperation at my answer. Even if I gave her what she wished for, it would only be a temporary cure to what is cursing her. She has become so corrupted that I can partially read her with my eyes. It is a testament to her willpower that, even now, she can contain herself. But she is looking down at the edge of a cliff, and I have the choice of pushing her or pulling her back.

And yet... I can't lie and turn my back on who I am, and what my mission is. "No." I shake my head softly. "I can't follow you. Your answer is something much more difficult to find."

"...Why?" Her eyes twitch, and redness started to revolve around her like an aura. So potent it is nearly visible to the naked eye. And to my eyes? It fills my vision with all sorts of emotions that Arcueid hadn't been dealing with before. Raw murderous rage, hatred, regret, desire, obsession, envy, despair, domination, agitation.

The curse of Angra Mainyu doesn't have anything to do with this, and yet she is matching the human race's evil all on her own. The fact she can maintain herself to this point is a testament to her willpower. She had all this bottled up for 800 years, and she survived with it only by limiting herself to only what was strictly essential. I'm dealing with a nuclear bomb that has suddenly started to feel emotions. Negative emotions always dominate at first, feeling them all at once without knowing how to make them stop is like a runaway train leading towards calamity.

Even if it is the worst situation possible, I am perhaps the only person who can deal with it.

"...Why what, Arcuied?"

"Why won't you do as I say!? You said you would accept my judgment. So why...? Why don't you hate the world? Why don't you hate the people in it? They are so ugly, building up a convenient device that they will torture to make themselves feel better! And yet you still fight for them? Stop it already...! Stop pretending to be fine with it!"

"It is precisely that there is so much to lament and hate in humanity that there is value in it. Even if all they will ever do is wrong, that is a part of their history. Even if it ends in ruin, it does not nullify what was once in the time that I have. You said it yourself. A single human is innocent of the sins of the species." Silence reigns in the air till she suddenly walks over to me. She moves so fast without effort that she is next to me.

"I can't accept that anymore. I want to let go of this hesitation. I will start with you, and then I will turn on the rest."

I sigh. "I have been very forgiving of you, Arcueid. I will have to punish you if you continue to act like this." I talk down to her like a child.

"I am the strongest in all the world, Shirou. There is nothing you can do to me now but nibble at my feet like an insect." That was true. No one could do anything against her on Earth.

"Are we on Earth, Arcueid?"

"..." She really doesn't like it when I say that. "...I'm shutting it down. I'll rend this world and bring an end to your contradiction once and for all." She starts to crush the superimposed reality. The Earth is the natural enemy of this magic; even without Arcueid, this can't last very long. With Arceuid, if she has serious, then she can end it in a moment. Even a Reality Marble is no match for her when she is serious. And yet... "Ergh..." Her exertion is too much. Her own power works against her.

Her wounded are so bad that she herself can't muster the power to break through the barrier. No. In fact, there is something that even if she were at full power, she could never break this. Only a True Demon's Reality Marble would be completely separated from the world, as they would hold no traces of the Earth in their logic at all. The inner world of Emita Shirou was tilted and insane, but it was still built on a fundamental basis from the world. Thus, it should be easy to use to force it to collapse into the natural order. But that green sky... Arcueid couldn't reach it. Avalon was ever-distant even to her. A boundary that blocks all five sorceries and was outside of everything.

"I can't... I can't..." She pulls and pulls and pulls and the weight bearing down on the sphere that Shirou created swells beyond the limit. She is crushing herself under her own enormous weight. She will kill herself if it continues.

"Arcueid, whatever you are doing, you should stop! It's breaking you!"

"Aghhjh! I'm not going to let you...! I-" Her body starts to crack. "I can't... I can't..." She pulls and pulls and pulls, and the weight bearing down on the sphere swells beyond the limit. But nothing happens. It is as if there is a barrier inside of it that blocks all forms of outside interference. It can't be forced even by the world itself. She falls to her butt. "So that is Avalon. Hah. It matches my expectation as family. Why won't it accept that i am right? Why would something born from the world protect you over me?"

"Stop pushing yourself Arcuied... Your energy... Don't be an idiot...!" She hurts herself until she is tired, and thus she can no longer fight back against her desire.

"...Shirou..." Her eyes become hazy. What she looks at me as is... prey.

"..."

Her hands take my shoulders in a tight unbreakable grip. I don't resist. "I-I..." Her face is tense and her eyes are closed as if she is struggling to control herself. "If you refuse to accept it, then I will force you to. I do not need to listen to you anymore." Long thin teeth that will rip through the neck of its victim. She has no need for it to live, but the drinking of it would be a painkiller for everything.

"It's not a good answer."

"Hahaha... Hah... But it is one. If you can't give one to me, then I will have to take it from you." Her desires are so thick that the air is turning red. "You are already bleeding. Haah. Hah... Aren't you afraid?"

"I am, but not for me." She pauses at my coldness. I don't feel in danger.

"...Why? Why don't you cower before the ultimate predator of your species?"

"A predator has no hesitation, Arcueid. It has no joy but in murder. A monster doesn't struggle with what what it must do, it takes ultimate pleasure in doing so. Trust me. I understand that that path leads nowhere. You must know that too-"

She stops me from talking by capturing my eyes. They are yellow, and I can no longer move. "How can you say that? You understand nothing, human...! How could a human understand this sensation...! Now you are nothing but frozen prey... surely this will be easy..."

Her teeth are so close, yet she lingers before finishing me off. I have no possible way of escape. Arcueid is delaying. She falters, and falters and falters, and then... "Setzen!" A gem explodes in Arcueid's face with the power of a rocket. She is thrown to the ground, yet... Arcueid lands on her feet like a cat. She might be weakened, but Arcuied is still too strong.

'Tohsaka...!' I can't scream. 'No, get away!' I can't move under Arcueid's enchantment.

"You...! The red girl. ...What are you doing!?" Arcueid screams at Tohsaka and me. "Hahaha. I see, so this is the humanity that stops you from coming with me. It is clear now. I will rip her in two! You will see that humans can only break easily; they will only make you miserable! You don't understand him!"

"Understand him? Hah... This is why you shouldn't invite a vampire into your home." Tohsaka sighs. "I understand him much better than you ever could. All you see is the mirage that you wish him to see. Do you not remember what I said to you? Didn't I tell you it is so easy to fall into the trap of letting a wish-granter match your expectations?"

"...!"

"Platzen!" Tohsaka tries to match Arcueid with a gem, but it is no use. A blast of wind through this world throws Tohsaka down. Even a gem attuned to find couldn't stop even a single blow from Arcueid's claws in the air. Tohsaka is cornered quickly.

"I'll end you first. Then as I drink his blood at the depths of despair, my answer will be complete." If she does that first, Arcuied intends to push herself past the point of going back. She intends to break through her last resistance impulsively.

She moves too fast. Tohsaka can't possibly get out in time.

I can't make it in time...! I can not even move. Arcueid will kill Tohsaka!

Then, Arcuied is pulled down suddenly at the last moment. The sea of curses floods out and drags Arcueid. It is like the curses themselves turned on Arcuied, but I have never had the power to wield them like that...! I can only use curses through the usage of swords. Then what...?

My answer comes surging into the world as a natural disaster.

"I can't let you hurt Senpai and Nee-san...!" The ocean of curses that was like a dropback to this battle surged, and a giant shadow formed to destroy Arcueid. "This is all I can do now...!"

Arcueid broke out of it and swiped it away. "You think your shadows can do anything to me? Haha. You keep getting in my way little friends of Shirou; what I will do to you will be suffering on the level you have never felt."

"-And what would you know about suffering!?" Sakura screams, wielding curses as easily as if they were water. So heavy they bear down on Arcuied slowing her down so Rin can fall back. "Even if you ripped me limb from limb, that would be nothing I have not felt before. Senpai accepted me, even after I was broken. ...Pain means nothing to me now, because even if I am unforgivable, I know he will stay with me! I can never escape this pain... but that is okay now. I won't let you take my Nee-san away now that she will accept me!"

They can't keep up even together and with power as I have never seen them use. It's just no use. Even this was too much for a human. They are defeated without much effort on Arcueid's part.

"...Boring."

Sakura was thrown across the ground and onto Tohsaka, knocking the two of them out at the same time. She goes to kill them. "Senpai... no..." Sakura desperately says so weakly to stop me, but she and Tohsaka are done. They were exhausted before this battle even began, and now they leave the stage.

"Arcueid... Stop...!" I break her enchantment like cracking a mirror and stop her with a row of swords forging a wall. "It is me you want, is it not? Stop troubling yourself with them. i won't forgive you if you hurt them. Take me if that is what you truly wish. Or do you wish to simply hurt anyone you can find? It isn't enough, is it? Your pain won't go away no matter how cruel you become."

"Hihi, I don't want your forgiveness! You should be begging for mine..."

"I-I am... So please..."

"Hmph. Fine. I accept. I only want you, after all. Come to me, Shirou, and I will give you your judgement. You will come with me and be chained alongside with me forevermore. That is my judgement."

"...I accept. ...But if I can be so selfish, could I ask for one condition? Could you tell me the sort of things this will entail?"

"Hahaha! Of course. I wish to drink your blood at the peak of despair; then I will have the greatest delicacy of all! The purest form of human desire, nothing would taste better...! You gave me this hunger. It is only fair I oblige your wish! I want to do all sorts of things now. Just... with you there, we can do anything... No- I can do anything, and you will be forced to follow." I gave her the ability to taste. I inscribed a curse on her food that gives it taste. Useless for one who has taste buds, but for a True Ancestor... perhaps I wasn't thinking two steps ahead. I just wanted her to be happy in the moment.

"That is... not as evil as I thought it would be."

"You are the bad guy here. This world is evil, and I am good. No one is supposed to think that having an inner world this grotesque is acceptable! You must enjoy it! You are taking on suffering like a masochist!"

"...It is not enjoyable, but it is necessary... If this pain means that others will be lessened, then... how can it be wrong?"

"It's wrong because it's wrong! Isn't that enough? Do you really believe that suffering yourself will take away from others!? Stop hurting yourself for no reason! Even if you were absolving the pain of humanity, it still doesn't matter. Who cares about a species that would give birth to this hatred? Just listen already... forget about before. It's unnatural, so let it go, Shirou. I know what is best." She was just insane a minute ago, and now she is back to her more logical self. But that is lost now... She can't regain that emptiness after losing it.

She says so as if she is still the ultimate objective observer. That hasn't been true for a long while now- No, from the start her motivation was not out of some objective duty to find and judge me. It wasn't Gaia's strings controlling her. Maybe she heard a simple message, but Arcueid woke up of hr own volition. Arcueid didn't need to come back here. She didn't need to intervene. Under the ruleset which dictates that she is an empty doll designed only to clean mistakes from the face of the Earth, she didn't need to come. If not for her, then I would have self-destructed by now. She hadn't been logical from the first time we had met. ...I can't truly know why, but I know that it is true.

"Arcueid, are you still clinging to the idea that you are logical? That you alone can see the full picture, and you alone are separate from everything and everyone? Tell me what you truly desire, and stop pretending to be a simple observer. You don't have to keep disguising your real intentions; I can't know them unless you put them into words."

"That is... That is... If I am corrupted, then it is your fault!"

"If you were really corrupted, then you would have killed me from the start. Instead, you played around and wished to know more and more. You told me yourself: this was the first time you had done such a thing. Stop blaming me for becoming involved with you, considering you came for me first. You may be in denial of it, but the only one who corrupted you is yourself. Deep down, do you wish for death and eternal punishment for what you have done? Or secretly, in your deepest heart, do you really desire that someone can forgive you for what you have done?"

"...!" She barely contains herself at my words as they strike a nerve. She is so disorientated that I could attack, and she wouldn't be able to respond. "Don't look at me with those eyes, Shirou. I will not tolerate that. You are the perpetrator here. Don't try to understand something that is beyond you. You are still human. If you look for too long then... no one will be able to bring you back from that."

Yeah, I do wish to understand. She wants me too, but she must be shy. She just happens to manifest shyness as murderous rage. Her soul had become red, yet she was still convincing herself she was pure and white. I can't help but laugh a little. "Haha. Indeed, I am the source of all your sins and problems. If that is convenient for you to think, then that is what I am here for. But Arcueid, I can't turn a lie into truth. I can't help you if you can't even acknowledge your own sins-"

She stands up. "Shut up... Don't speak..." She is trembling. Her hair extends. Her visage becomes alien, and more akin to a nightmare that haunts childhood dreams. She drowns herself even more in self-corruption as if to deny everything I said to her. Since this is a place in which imagination rules, sit celebrates the birth of a new evil. "Shut up!" Her teeth sharpen, and she licks blood off her fingers. "I said shut up!"

She screams so loudly it echoes and reverberates across the entire world, and shakes the steel that stabs the ground next to me.

"..." I'm not talking, yet just by looking at her, she can hear the screams of all the curses of humanity. The ugliness is everything she hates.

"You don't know anything. You are a pest of the same manner as Roa, tampering with the soul. Don't think you can understand me! I know I am beyond salvation... I know... but the one who I feel like blaming is you. ...Hahahahahaha! If you want to be so stupid to continue saying that you are a representative of humanity's evil, then I will treat you like it!"

Despite losing much of her power. Despite her body being broken not an hour before. Despite her connection to the world being cut off. The energy that surges from her is like a hurricane, and the entire world sounds like a train horn. This was happening precisely because she was weakened. There was no escape route, so like a cornered lion, she musters the rage that she normally can contain.

Her yellow eyes are broken. Her entire essence is sick. The mud of all the evils of the world can't corrupt her. She can only do that herself. Perhaps it was just that she was close to this potent pollution, so she could no longer hide that she hated it. She exposes her impulsive plan to destroy the source of her pain. She says she wants to kill me, then she says she wants to keep me. I see now. What she needs is something that will clear her confused mind. If the contradiction continues to sting her, then it won't end, will it?

"If this is the path that you have chosen, then will respect it, as I said I would. However, I would ask you for one last test. ...Kill me, Arcueid. That is the only judgement that makes sense, right? If you are as resolved as you claim to be, then I won't have a chance of victory. But if you are even a hair short of the speed I know you are capable of, then I will run you through."

She looks alarmed. "...! Stop it. Hahaha! It won't be a contest Shirou. A human, no matter how strong they are, can beat me! I'll drink the blood of your final breath if that is what you want." She asserts firmly.

"Maybe so, but do not assume that such a thing applies to me now. I will kill you if you do not resist."

"No, no, no...! You underestimate me! ...You truly are evil, Shirou. You are the one who is cornering me into this!" She raises her arm in a prowling move as if to stalk me, yet she stays away.

"Yes, I am. This is what was inevitable as soon as I saw you. Show me your worst self, and I will acknowledge it. I cannot find your answer for you, but I can give you the opportunity to lose yourself for the first time."

"Hmph. No! You can't do that for me. You are unarmed, and I will make my own judgement of you. Even if you tell me to kill you, I'm not going to do as you say." She begs not to be pushed anymore.

"Let me ask you something, Arcueid. Who do you think was judging who from the very start?"

"Hah...?" A flicker of white resistance comes to her face for only a moment. The words were simple but hit her at the core. It is fleeting, and the red disease inside her reasserts itself with even worse ferocity. "What...? No... That can't be... I am the judge here. Do not look down on me!"

"..." I don't need to say any more now. She can fill in the rest.

"...Fine. Have it your way. I judge you guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! I hate you! I will rip you into pieces! What you represent is every wrongdoing, every transgression and pollution on the Earth! I will cleanse you from existence!"

"..."

She doesn't hold back anything. This is Red Arcueid. Her soul is completely drowned in mud and blood. "I will drink your blood and make you watch as the world of man burns. I'll turn you into the demon that they want! I will do it! I'll turn you into the sorrow you hate the most, and I will enjoy every second of it. I'm done pretending!"

It's the first time in a long time that I can't tell if it is a lie or truth. For some reason, maybe I really have been influenced by Angra Mainyu, but I smile a goading smile. "Come then, Blood Princess. I will show you what a real demon can do." The most potent of desires are the ones that you shouldn't do, yet can't help but pursue. This was one of her breaking points, and she was about to jump.

She starts towards me slowly, perhaps reticent to kill me so quickly, or perhaps not quite understanding why I am standing there without any weapons at all. I am motionless as a statue, but I feel gears begin to rev in my mind. The entire world becomes a forge. 'Give me a weapon that destroys a demon.'

Except that... I've never seen such a thing. Not among the Noble Phantasms that I had copied from Gilgamesh, and not among those I have seen in my travels. So... I will just have to make it from scratch. I feel a part of my blood boil, as it feels that it is time for a blacksmith to emerge. This time I will need a new weapon. One completely unknown.

'Trace on. Limited Zero Over.'

Mighty Wind (Music) /tIyNAF5rgYk

A bullet blows out my brain. Golden circuits inside my body start running and electrocuting me. That's fine. The greater the penalty, the greater this single cut will become. Even my physical nerves connect and join in this madness.

As my mind changes into an inhuman machine, so too does the world of swords. Suddenly, everything was covered in a great fog. Great machinery enters below the green sky and starts up an apparatus of creation. It siphons the sea of curses like a water wheel and starts a machine of perpetual motion. It turns the ultimate destructive force into the greatest furnace and tempers only those greatest of blades that can sustain the heat. It's not the full power of this magic, but it is the root of it.

"Heh. So this is the true power of your Reality Marble? Good. That's what I wanted. Give me your worst, and I'll show you it means nothing. This is all meaningless, so I will put you down now before you make the mistake of containing to hope." She finally says so and charges.

I can't let her come close! Not yet. Blades meet claws in an act of lightning. Arcueid is vulnerablee. She is tired, yet even at 10% of her power, she is formidable.

"Heh, I've had enough of this pointless dancing arround blades."

"They can't stop you, but they can slow you down."

Her fighting style is ferocious and full of superfluous movement. She is unlike the Arcueid I fought before, whom I never held a chance against. This Arcueid is faster and stronger. She is not holding back anymore, but it is easier to find holes in her defence. This Arcueid is more like a wounded animal who is desperate for her meal. She is dangerous but also vulnerable. She is enjoying this.

She is tearing through steel, not bothering to dodge. Anything less than a Noble Phantasm bounces off of her, and even the best in my arsenal does next to nothing. I need to slow her down, but I must not lose focus on the path to victory. I must accept my own death. I will fight her head-on and create that blade at the same time.

She takes satisfaction in breaking every blade that comes at her. My arsenal isn't very impressive compared to Gilgamesh, but I make up for it in my ideal. He sees weapons as possessions, but for me, swords are my everything. She won't expect the difference.

I close my eyes.

My head hurts. The white noise is taking over now.

I can no longer feel my fingers. I see metal sticking out of my cheek.

"Agh!" Blood pours out of my nose as if to show that this is the end of where my brain can lead me. A piece of my brain blows out, and Emiya Shirou becomes a machine dedicated to one final action.

A sword of perfection I have never even seen.

This sword isn't one that Emiya Shirou saw in reality. It has been here as long as he can remember. As if it was told to him as a bedtime story every night until it was as real to him as any blade. My blood sings as if it is familiar with this weapon. Those are simply acquired traits that happen to go through the eyes. There was only one true effect of Shirou's eyes. Mystic Eyes are a circuit running through the eye and brain functions, providing some distinctive ability. They can lead to the most strange of places.

That one sword... where did I see it? I didn't see it with my normal eyes. I saw this in the dark void of the sixth dimension, where it was forged to almost divinity yet stopped right short. It must be some kind of coincidence or miracle, I don't know, but I won't turn my back on it now. But in between these pillars lays a great void. A void which gives birth to nothingness and a nothingness that is open to unlimited potential.

To become one with that is to achieve the true enlightenment of a creator. I can only know it is there, but I can not understand it. "Give me a blade to kill gods and demons..." Let me cut the nature of causality itself. "Set. Cursed Blade Works. Absolution."

A curse that will cut without fail. A sword forged with fire and blood. I search for it by its curse and find it.

Something appears in my hands, I feel it connect to my very soul. It is a blade not meant for human hands.

"...!" My blood vessels burst, and my body cracks as I feel my own blood boil. Summoning this blade is to push my body into the realm of the inhuman. "I am the bone of my sword."

She is right there.

Her claws will rip my chest open, and she will have full control to do whatever she wishes. I open my eyes. A rainbow is forming in my hands, it dispel the great mist. What was that perception? She stops as soon as her golden eyes look into my own. What was she seeing that made her, an immortal amongst immortals, feel abject fear? "Those eyes-!"

I was seeing nothing. The antithesis of divinity.

I unsheathe cold steel into the Waki form and slash the air. "Myoujingiri Muramasa!"

Shing

The marble is cut in half.

The shining steel katana is unveiled out of an invisible sheathe as soon as she moves. It happens in an instant. Muramasa's finest katana that reached the conceptual realm of Demon, becoming a true Cursed Sword in the process. A single strike of this sword can cleave through the supernatural, on a conceptual level. Emiya Shirou reaches that pinnacle, grasping the truth of emptiness, then severs the cause of her losing herself. A blade that slashes everything without discrimination... even its wielder.

So...

Two bodies fall to the ground, cut clean through. Arcueid was fast, but the draw of the sword was faster. The sky cracks like an egg. I destroy the root of her desire... myself.

Desire loops the darkness like the moon. A halo extends out into the night sky for the last time as the fantasy ends.

...

Blood pours into the stone ground. "..."

Arcueid had disappeared, and Shirou had been cut clean through. A fatal wound. The world collapses into itself, and like a black hole, all the energy that had been poured into it surged back into the great battery that was the Greater Grail. The last blow broke the fate of that night and gave way for the coming daybreak.

---

Memories of the Moon (Music) /5lhfVkDeZ2A

When she looked up and out of that red fantasy, she saw the boy looking down at her. It was as if she had awakened up from a long dream... or perhaps for the first time, she felt that her life was her own... Everything was fresh with him there. 'It hurts so much... but it was not so bad of an ideal,' Arcueid thought. It was a sad and terrible end, but feeling it cannot be regretted. 'I have found where the secrets lie. I see it now.' Freedom was in feeling things without the chains that freeze them.

Certain words should be said in both roles. That of antagonist and protagonist. That of nature and humanity. And finally, that of Emiya Shirou and Arcueid Brunestud, who have taken off their responsibilities and masks.

I open my eyes and look down at her. "Shirou..." I think she looks irritated with me. "You are an idiot."

"Why... am I... alive?" I say. I couldn't beat her, even if I had the will to do it... "...That was all I had. Yet I am... awake? You...?"

She shakes her head. "No... Not me. That thing inside you did, I didn't realize what you were until it showed me. Hah, and you have no idea it's even there, do you? You are like this without even knowing. Oh well, you won, Shirou. I can't defeat you then. You win at being the ultimate fool."

"But I..." Can't even walk. It is not enough. My whole body sounds like shifting metal and boiling mud. Death is unavoidable for me now. "There is nothing left now but to disappear as Angra Mainyu did before me, then maybe..."

She slaps me. "Don't lie to yourself, you know well that your passing on wouldn't put an end to the darkness of mankind. Shirou... you don't have to pretend with me, remember? You don't have to fulfil the position of being a representation of humanity as a whole anymore. " If you will force me to be like this, then I'm going to at least drag you with me until this ends."

"...But... even if I do want to live...it is coming to be the end now." I can't save myself. I only even just realized I have some ability to alter the soul; I can't escape fate any further. I only survived the fight with Chaos because Arcueid was there to put me back into one piece.

"You should take that as a lesson then. That fighting style of yours is horrible. You are hurting yourself more than your opponent."

"Well... I guess that is my affinity. If you are not willing to die in every battle, then you will never achieve victory. A cursed sword allows me to fill the gap, but I have to pay a price. I couldn't ever have beaten you without going all out. Sorry-"

"Shush. It's bad manners to insult your redeemer, you know. But well... That doesn't matter, does it? Haha... That is who you are. You can't stand being helped, can you...? You would have been more satisfied if I ripped you to shreds, but... It's time to fulfil my duty to you."

"Duty...?"

"Duty as your master, or perhaps as your family, who really cares?"

White light fills me, and she darkens as if turning off her circuit for a final time. "Arcueid, no...! What are you doing...!?"

I feel her energy surge into me. A part of her transfers from one to the other, "Saving you. This would have only worked for you. A little trick of an Ancestor to their servant."

"Stop..." I can do nothing to stop her. She keeps giving and giving until there is nothing left. "W-why?"

"Oh, it was something I figured out a little while ago. You are my familiar, Shirou. A part of myself is dedicated to you. Has been for a while, really. We really are close, aren't we?" She smiles.

"How...? A familiar to a vampire...? But that is a Dead Apostle, isn't it?"

"That would be a sort of familiar, but what we have is a bit more... irregular. This is not a connection to our bodies but our souls. Of purpose. A true wish to protect the earth. A debt repaid over centuries. Of course, a human can not become familiar to anything else so easily, but you are the exception. Your soul goes a bit farther than most humans, doesn't it? It reaches out into the horizon, searching for anyone to save. ...Why I came... well, I felt that there was someone who might save me. You were already a danger then, and you already smelled just like my family used to... but I made all types of excuses and refused to admit it to myself until the very end. Hah, I really am dumb, aren't I? I was looking for something I already knew didn't exist. I just liked the what if. What if that boy had an answer, and I never tried seeing him?"

She falls over as if she had finally said what she meant to say from the beginning. "Arcueid... I am not so pure. My hands are already bloodied. I can never be forgiven for some of the things I have done. I serve... only myself and my wish that keeps escaping me."

"Yes. We will never find what we are looking for in this world, but I am satisfied with this end. But that is why I knew you were like me, because I know now that with the right path... a miracle will surely be waiting at the end. One day." She smiles. "That is enough for me. Maybe I did go a little too far. You took my first time, after all."

"Eh...!?" Don't say something so crazy now of all times.

"Hehe. You don't hide your feelings as well as you think. ...My first time going berserk, of course. ...Oh, I guess the second time, but I haven't thought of those days in forever. Even now, the smell of your blood terrifies me. It calls me to drink and seize all the things I could never have..." The desire in her is the strongest I have ever seen, yet... "I don't really feel like it anymore."

"Yes. You were acting like a child."

"Tch. You can be blunt sometimes. Not that I didn't have a good reason to do so! ...You play a good antagonist. I'm a little stupid, and you can be a bully! Everything you did was like you were trying to make me become this. Were you really trying to push me into madness?"

"...I-I did want you to change. It just turns out that the skill I inherited was making someone change through cruelty... I wanted you to know what it meant to be a human. I was sick of seeing the emptiness in you... I wanted to understand you... I guess it was wrong of me, but I don't regret letting you know the taste of food and showing you what everyday life could be for you. If only there had been more time, this all would have been-"

Just a day more... that is all I want or ask for.

"I have changed... and I don't regret it, Shirou. I don't mind knowing this corruption. ...So smile, don't be sad. Don't wish for things that can't happen when there is so much else left to be done." Not all corruption is evil, and not all curses have ill intentions. It is the person underneath that determines that. And so I smile for her. Because even if it is sad, even if it is regrettable... I have to leave her with that. I have to impart some last warmth on her so that she won't become engrossed in that cold life again without knowing what warmth could be. Arcueid nods to herself. The topic moves to an inane discussion. "Oh, I forgot. Do you think I looked good?"

"Look... Good? Your fighting style was mesmerizing from what I saw of it." Like the synthesis of a beast and a princess. The perfect blend of brutality and grace.

"That is not what I am asking! Geez... You really are thick. How was my dress?"

"What? Oh... Yeah... It's a nice dress... You appear like a princess. It fits you...".

"Hah. I'm glad... Thank you." Such a thing was important to her. Beyond my compression, but that really is an important thing to a vampire. How they look is very important apparently. She never talked to anyone, so her appearance was the only sense of expression she ever had. The idea that I would lie would never pass her mind. It was true though. She looked like the most beautiful thing in all the world.

"So this is your inner world, eh...? It's not exactly a vacation spot. I didn't think that humans could become so hateful it would fill up an entire ocean. How can I live with this? How can a human be so powerful? This would be a pain even for me to carry. ...But I do not mind that sky..."

"I'm not strong at all... It is just something I have been left with by the one who made it this far.."

"Tell me the story then; I want to hear it." She appears like a child being tucked into bed, being told a story so she can drift into sleep.

"The full one is far too long to say... But simply put, Angra Mainyu gave up every last trace of individuality so he could taste the everyday life that was robbed from him. Even if it could only be fleeting... he did have it, and he defended it even if it meant passing on into the nothingness he feared more than anything. I just thought that... if I could hold this curse here, then he wouldn't have to deal with it there..." But... such a thought must be foolish. Recreating all the world's evil inside me and keeping this curse here can't take away what was done to him, and it can't stop humanity from committing evil. The truth is... Even with the freedom to live in the future, I still choose to take on past burdens. Because... I feared so much that I would forget that day, I feared that I would stop hating myself and move on. ...This punishment is a part of me that I was unwilling to let go of. I would rather burn than be allowed to forget.

As if to cut through these poor thoughts, she says something with a real smile. "I see. It is a beautiful story. I'm glad he attained the one thing he truly desired. If this is what you desire, then you can't back down either, can you?"

No. If I stopped cursing myself, would I even tolerate living on? I thought that if I would live, then the least I could do was suffer the pain that I should not ever forget. This hell that exists here... this ocean of human suffering and curses, is only a reflection of my own mind... The reflection of my own desire to save everyone is the same as Angra Mainyu's. I truly believe I can turn this hell that can only destroy into a thing of good. It may break its very premise of it, but I can not stop. Never. It may appear hopeless for a lone hero to alter the course of history. The Age of Gods and Heroes has passed, and fate has become more and more rigid as the complexity of the world grows and solidifies. The influence of a single man can only push the world so far. Saving one life will kill another. Even so... "I am not wrong."

Bringing darkness into the light and embracing when everyone else will forsake it can never be wrong.

"Hah... I knew you would say that." She sighs a final time. "I don't have your iron will. I guess that I will never be able to understand. This contradiction took over my will. Maybe that is why it felt so exhilarating to just let it take over... Even if they will see you as a monster for it. Your eyes don't exactly help that."

"You know about what my eyes really are...? Mystic Eyes, right?" But of what kind? No one ever gave it a name.

"...Something that ought to not exist. ...But that is as much as I should say. Listen, Shirou, coming to understand what it is you see would be the end of you. The more you push your mind to understand, the harder it will become to turn away from that which your eyes can not help but perceive. The things that you thought were invisible to you will begin to become as clear as everything else until your mind is overwhelmed."

"But... If I can use these eyes for good, then... I will accept the consequences."

"So you will burn yourself out in the process? Are you looking for redemption or a place to die? ...I can't help but love that about you, Shirou. I am a fool too... to believe that salvation exists. You make me more foolish by relation, but I would rather be a fool with you than be a demon with that Golden King. I can't do that if you go on and die before me." For some, that is the only choice there is. To be a monster as reality may demand, or the fool who fights for the path of light in a world where the sun has gone out.

"Haha... Then let us be fools together, Arcueid. I can do that if I know, you are one too. ...Can it not be that way?" The selfish wish of a boy who didn't want to let go of a girl.

Without sadness, she eventually responds. "...No, Shirou. It can not. The time I had with you was the best, but that is why it must end. My madness is only at bay now because I have become weak. To heal with you would only circle back to the same mistakes."

'I understand...' Logically, I do. Emotionally, I will never be able to get over it.

We stared at each other for a little while. It was odd, but that was all we could do. We were too exhausted to speak and too excited to sleep. Eventually, we laughed together softly like children. Well, I guess I am a child and she is not far from one. But I know that for the both of us, that innocent existence was robbed of us before we even realized its value. I can't let it end on a sad note.

"Hahaha..."

"Hahaha..."

It was a quiet laugh. I think we were both starting to feel drowsy. I wanted to rest so much, yet I knew that I couldn't. It would be a discredit to everything we did together.

"It seems there is not so much time left."

"Hmm... My mother once told me that all things that hold value have a beginning and an end. Perhaps, in the first place, that is why we met. So we could force each other to confront what we were running away from. But..." I don't want to acknowledge that this must end.

"Haha... I like that thought. It was fate, so there's no helping it. We were meant to come together, at least in this world. ...Ah. ...Then there is one last thing I wanted to do." Her colours are faint now. She is starting to become as diffuse as the air itself.

"What is it-?" If it is to drink my blood, or perhaps kill me, or something else entirely, I don't know. My head is too foggy anymore to think. I don't know what to expect.

...Then...

Her lips come to mine. A heavenly taste that feels like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. For a moment... the eternal burning fades away, and I feel free. Free from the past and my curse. Far from my ideal and cold purpose. A taste not easily lost. "Thank you... I wished to feel it at least once."

"You taste like blood."

"Well, you taste like ash and metal! Hmph. Don't say that to a lady... and don't drink too much... or I really will have to take you with me. Even a little will remain forever."

"It was just a little..." It shouldn't be a problem, right?

"Oh well, consider it a gift. I trust you with a little of it. Better you than the serpent." She is capricious.

Even if it is a sad end, the journey was far too strange not to laugh. "I take it all back... I never liked endings. ...Stay here. Stay the night, at least. We barely got to know each other, it is just... I can't allow you to leave with that look... My blood, you can have it. If that is what you need, then you can have it..." My neck is right in front of her. i wouldn't stop her. I would abide by that duty. i would be her knight if that is what it ook to make the girl in front of me happy.

She smiles again and shakes her head. The hunger remains, but she seems unfazed by it. "...The temptation of it is great. You would make a fine butler... and those days would pass so sweet knowing you were there... but... My true desire lies not in bringing you into the darkness with me. I don't need your blood, nor do I want it."

"..." What stops her?

"I want you to shine forever... That is the truth that I love. It's easy to love something perfectly aligned to you, but if you can love something that is truly your antithesis, I think that is beautiful. If I become too dark, be my light, and show me the depth of your darkness when I shine too bright. I want you to be there, just past the horizon. As long as I know that, I can walk with my head held up high."

As if to say, 'my salvation is you.' The climax of her discovering what her wish truly was. It was selfish to the end. The second I relented to her, she flipped it on me.

I want to be sad. I want to cry out and force her to stay and be happy. I want to teach her the everyday life she deserves... And yet I know... that is my selfish wish... I want her to stay with me forever so that the moon could protect me from burning out in the sun.

'How could you possibly love me? Don't say that... don't tell me to live on... You can't do that... You don't know... Don't tell me that I shine for you. You can't do that... How can you say that...? Didn't I burn out eight years ago...?' She is shining so bright in the moonlight that it hurts to look. It hurts to look at something you know will leave you.

"I will..." The words are like swords in my heart. "I don't want to forget..." But I know I will. An hour becomes a day and a day leads to a month and a year into decades. And new memories replace the old, and the past decays into the future, even if it is for ill. "I don't..." want to forget...

"Neither do I, Shirou. But..." To grasp the future that shines, let go of the loneliness that cannot be healed... Embrace the ever-distant star, and know that dawn will come. "I will forget about you. Until all that remains is an image. ...I will dream of my answer. ...I'll remember my hero, my only knight. So I can't kill someone I love, even if that is what my duty demands of me. I won't let the last of my family share the same fate. Live your shining contradictory life, if only for me..." What do the stars look up to? Do they look down at us and love the darkest depths of humanity, where we love their radiance in the sky?

My body is ringing. Is this the purpose of love and family, so that they can turn to ashes in your hands...? If I have held the radiant star in my hands, even for a moment, then how will I ever tolerate it being so far away now in the sky? How can I live on without this warmth, now knowing that it was there for me? I had only just allowed myself to forget the warm touch of my sister, and now I will have to let go once again.

"That sad face doesn't suit you, Shirou." How can a fake like me shine for themselves? But... she looks at me shining as if to dispel my attempts to hide in the darkness. So...

I can't betray her.

Perhaps having gone insane with grief, or by the oddness, or out of genuine happiness, I force myself to smile for her. I smile my best smile. "I-I want to live..." I feel a warmth fill me I haven't felt in so so long. The light from her body begins to dissimilate into the air. Her soul is becoming one once more with the world itself. "Ha..." Then, a cover of light covers us. I realize that the dawn has come. I look up and see a purple sky, giving life to a world that has survived the night. A brilliant moonline where the sun pierces through into moonlight. "I see. Some things can only be beautiful for the most fleeting of moments..." But that is okay. "Then let me take your place. Let me be your knight in the sun. If no one has been on your side... then I alone will be."

She smiles bitterly, and everything becomes diffuse. "Ah... The path will be long, Shirou. But please, no matter what... Don't lose that light in your eyes..." I feel a soft thing go across my eyes, wiping away whatever was there. For the first time in a long time, the ever-present pain of living is gone.

As if the light and our bodies blend together and there is no difference, no barrier. We are both parts of the same planet. It is a remarkable feeling. I feel like I am made of air, drifting with the wind across the world with all the pain flowing away. It last only for the shortest of moments. When I open them there is no longer anything in my hands. Just the transient flickers of the warming world under the sun's gaze.

Only the full moon shining in the sky, and the unfortunate souls left behind, who will only hold that beauty in their memories for all time. I knew down to my soul that I would never forget the moon that night and that it would be an eternity before it would shine that bright again. If you listen carefully, you can hear it. Even though I tremble at the reverberations of sadness, I release my heart as it is here, to that paradise of the future. A dream of flashes of light is pouring down on this breaking heart. Believing that I can reach that miracle... I raise my voice to drown out the pain that won't stop ringing. 'I'll protect tomorrow.'

---

Author's Notes:

I know that some people wish for different stories to be told between Arcueid and Shirou, but this is the one I made. This is the best story I could think of, and in the end, that is all I can promise. Of course, neither Shirou's or Arcueid's stories are over. They have their own missions to follow, but they definitely will be changed by meeting each other.

There is no UBW manta here because he only has a partial answer and hasn't found the full will to complete his magic. As I said, Shirou has definitely come to accept his own darkness, but he still needs to reach more for the light. Of course, the hints of what that means are pretty obvious in the chapter.

Broken Moon will be updated next with a long string of updates presumably. In both stories, I plan to make the Clock Tower the next focus for both Shiki and Shirou. They probably won't intersect though, for now... I have a story all lined up to explain what many other characters were doing at the same time this Arcueid arc was going on.

As for my character sheets: I'm probably not going to really work on them until I reach the HGW proper. I don't have the time for it and I think that it's not really worth it when character like Shirou are still realizing their full potential. I'll probably make a new story slot and import them directly into FFN and Ao3 for ease of reading them when the full list of important characters is known.

Reviews are always appreciated.