A/N: And here it is! Another chapter! Though this time I've made it a little smaller, at least to my standards, as this brief part of the story will be divided in three chapters, basically act 1, 2, and 3. So instead of sending it all in one go, I decided to split into three parts so I won't take forever to post. Hope you like it! Because, ooh boy, this is gonna be a trip.

A not-so-distant memory. One that shouldn't come to mind in these last moments and yet found its way here. There was only Shion and the shadow in the living room of his house house. The boy drew in his notebook. He always loved art, although it was never more than a hobby. After all, he had other responsibilities.

And it was at that moment, while Shion was drawing, that a question came up. One he should have asked a long time ago. "Shadow… why do you protect me?" The boy looked at the faceless figure, but he felt like he was looking at its face. "I mean, we met that day when Toshiro and I buried the puppy we took care of. You even saved my life. But why? I know you can't speak, but can you write?"

It was a possibility. If the shadow understood human language, perhaps it could write. At least Shion could try and see what would happen. To his surprise, when he offered the notebook and pen, the shadow took both objects and began to write. It was something new for the boy.

He has seen the shadow do everything. But to know how to write? It was surreal. It makes him wonder what else it could be capable of doing. And after a few seconds, there was the answer.

"It's because I love you."

That was a response Shion didn't expect. The boy looked at the shadow for some time. "You love me...? Well, thanks, I guess." A slight blush appeared on his cheeks, unsure of what to say. "But... if you're just helping me because you like me, then I have a request to make. In case… in case I die, please continue helping everyone with the mud."

The boy couldn't help but look at a photograph framed on the wall, which remains there today. There was Santiago, Shion, and Toshiro. All together at the summer festival. The three were smiling at the camera.

It was seeing such a happy family. And Shion knew what his only regret in life would be. He would regret it if he died and left everyone to fight the mud since only he could deal with it. And perhaps that was why now, in his final moments, this memory came to his mind. In addition to peace since he knew that the shadow would continue to help others.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

A delicate voice like a flower spoke. When Shion looked to the side, the shadow was no longer there. He stood up, confused, and it no longer seemed like a memory but like a lucid dream. Now, he could move around the house as if it were just a normal day.

Until when he opened the door and went to the backyard. Everything seemed normal. Except the day was beautiful, it felt like summer. Summer in Shinto. This is not the typical cloudy Miyama summer. And the birds were all colorful. They looked like they came out of some cartoon or a fairy tale.

Even with so many strange things happening, Shion tried to go out to understand what was happening. That's when he noticed the door was closed. "What a...?" Attempts to force it open were futile, it seemed impossible to open. Whatever was going on, it seemed like Shion wasn't allowed to leave. "Hey, let me out of here! Shadow, come here and cut this shit!"

But nobody came.

Something was very wrong. Still, Shion couldn't stop thinking about Toshiro and Lucio, worried about whether they had escaped the Dead Apostle. And as soon as he thought about it, he felt a vibration in his pocket. It was his cell phone, and the person calling was Toshiro. Think I'm stupid?! Of course, this is some illusion. Even Shion, who wasn't very clever, could see it.

That's why he didn't even bother to answer. He threw the cell phone on the floor and broke it into pieces. "Shadow! I know this is your thing! Let me out of here now!" He had no other explanation. Whether this was a mental space or mud pits, the truth is that only the shadow could be behind it.

Soon, the animals on top of the wall turned black and red, abandoning their friendly appearance and looking straight at Shion. It felt as if they were piercing his soul. That's when a distorted voice came out, saying simply: "No."

A vein appeared on Shion's forehead and face, and he clenched his teeth in a forced smile. At that moment, he ran towards the house, went in, and came out again, bringing a chair. In another attempt to leave, he struck the door with the object, breaking the chair into pieces.

Frustrated, the boy looked at the wall, which wasn't tall and tried to jump to get to the edge and get out. However, the wall grew almost ninety meters up. It was a sign that Shion should give up, and he did, but only trying to climb. If he tried and reached the top somehow, it was certain that the wall might only grow even higher.

Of course, if the shadow had authority over that space and was trying to prevent him from escaping, that means there must be a way to escape. Otherwise, it wouldn't even bother trying. And the answer was somewhere in the Emiya residence. Now, someone calm and collected would think logically about what to do.

But this is Shion Emiya. Someone who was already enraged and went back into the house to get the next thing he was going to throw at the door. This was going to be a long day. Especially because the sun didn't seem to move from its place.

It had been almost an hour since they started running away on the headless chicken, and Toshiro couldn't stop thinking about Shion. He wondered if the boy was okay. If he had managed to kill the duplicate. And if not, if he had already put himself in a sphere to protect himself.

And to think that the young priest started this night by coming to the inauguration of the Ryuudou temple with Taiga and ended up having to save a defenseless maiden from a vampire. Thinking about it like that, it seemed like his life was some cliché soap opera. If it weren't for the fact that he was running away on top of a giant headless chicken right now.

"So? Do you think we lost him?" Lucio asked, holding the little white-haired girl, who was beginning to twitch very slightly as if she was having spasms of pain. "The little one doesn't look so good."

"I doubt we lost him. If even flying we couldn't, then I doubt we can right now, even with less weight than before." Which meant they left Shion behind for nothing, which irritated Toshiro. "But what do you mean, is she not doing well?"

"I don't know... she started fidgeting a lot. Like she's having a nightmare, and her breathing has some long pauses. Besides being in a cold sweat." That would be a problem. They were already having trouble keeping the girl away from outside dangers. Now, if she had any health issues, it would make all this rescue be in vain.

Toshiro touched the girl's face, noticing how cold she was and, to Lucio, he used some healing magecraft. Although, this had a golden glow appearing, almost divine. Either way, she soon relaxed and stopped moving so much. Now, she was much better despite sweating as much as before. It was the most he could do.

And as a problem never comes alone, as soon as they thought they had escaped, the Dead Apostle appeared in front of them, punching the ground. His strength caused the terrain to become irregular as the ground opened and shattered, almost as if it were glass. The headless chicken ended up falling, incapable of maintaining its balance.

Toshiro caught Lucio and the little girl, jumping off the summoner's creature and landing softly in a less damaged area. Soon, the group came face to face with the duplicate once again, who looked wild, almost furious.

"You guys did it… I haven't felt this offended in ages." The monster growled, showing teeth as sharp as swords. "You can burn me, take my head off, break my bones. Hell, you can even throw any insult to my face. I do not care about that. But I'll never overlook how you made me feel today! To feel what it's like to die for real! Be it a duplicate or not!"

Die for real? What does he mean? And who... wait, was it Shion? How? If he managed to destroy the duplicate, it should be just that. A duplicate. The Dead Apostle shouldn't have felt anything about its death. After all, even Toshiro burned one of the duplicates, turning it to ash, and the monster was unaffected."Anyway, I will be quick with killing you for two reasons. First, I don't want your blood on this duplicate because you irritated me to that point! Second and last, I don't want to stain the Lesser Grail with your insides. So, let's be quick, shall we?"

Upon hearing this, Toshiro knew they were in trouble. At the same moment he got up, leaving the Einzbern girl with Lucio and moving towards the duplicate. The two faced each other, one thirsty for blood and the other nervous. And it didn't take long for him to take off his shirt.

"Oh? If, by any chance, you want to make it easier for me to see the points I should cut, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my cold heart." The mocking tone was evident. But the young priest didn't care. It might be rash to use this, but he would never let a vile being of darkness get the better of him like that.

I'll do like Shion. If I must fight, I'll fight with everything. Even if there's a chance of dying. Fortunately, before Toshiro began the process that could end his life, the Dead Apostle stopped paying attention to them and looked up at the sky, putting a huge, disturbing smile on his face.

"I can't believe it... hahahaha! It started! I don't know what you did, but it started! Could it be because the vessel feels in danger?!" He seemed to have discovered something revolutionary, returning to his previous composure and looking at Toshiro, who was confused. "Well, looks like it's your lucky day. My mood got much better. Besides, I no longer need to kill you or have this puppet. Have a good day."

And just as he appeared, the vampire disappeared before their eyes, showing his absurd speed. Although Toshiro didn't feel safe, not even when the vampire left. So much for thinking he could still be attacked, so much for fearing what this vampire had realized.

Then, looking up at the sky, the young priest knew that his problems had only just begun.

A peaceful and trouble-free night. It even seemed like a dream that Santiago was living, and he had a glass of wine to accompany him on this calm night. Nothing like Alentejo wine to end this night on a high note. Even more so after such a complicated day. He had to answer the person in charge of the Clock Tower on the phone because of the incident with Shion and Roche.

Having to explain why the boy had almost left the golem magus sterile was torture. Mainly because the person in charge did not accept the justification that Roche was unpleasant to the boy, leading to the act of aggression. Of course, as a priest, Santiago did not agree with the use of unnecessary violence.

However, it was very audacious and quite pathetic for an older man like Roche to cause such an uproar due to the childish provocations of a young man like Shion. And if he hadn't stopped himself from making the situation any worse, he would have told the dollmaker to go fuck himself. Although he wouldn't use such vulgar language. Unless he was mad.

And to think that it's been almost seventeen years since he found that boy. How time flies. Impressive, the two don't see each other as much as they used to. The biggest reason for this is Shion has been trying to get a part-time job and living in a different house than his since he was ten years old.

The violet-haired boy always wanted to be independent very early, and Santiago was afraid that perhaps he had let him try to grow up too quickly. After all, he taught everything he knew, but the boy never went to school, never made friends his age, and overall missed out on many of the experiences of any child.

However, Shion wasn't normal. He knew that very well from the beginning. His family. The way he found him. That shadow that walked alongside him. His resistance against the mud, and much more. He knew that child was destined for something great. But did Shion waste most of his potential by not living a normal life?

In all these years, this was perhaps Santiago's biggest regret. The fact that he didn't give Shion a normal life. Should he talk to him about this? Should he ask Toshiro to enroll him in school? The young priest mentioned an acquaintance of Shion's father being there, but would that be so bad?

The boy could get to know his roots, maybe find another person he could trust, and thus learn more about himself and his past. Yes, tomorrow Santiago would talk to the boy and convince him to go to school and meet this woman Toshiro worked with.

And, snapping him out of his reverie, a priest came running into his office, almost out of breath. "Father Santiago! You... you..." The poor man could barely speak.

"Calm down, son, take some time to breathe and tell me, what is worrying you?" The man in question took a deep breath and then exhaled, managing to regain some of his breath and calm down.

"You need to see this! There's something in the sky!" This made Santiago get up immediately, running out of the office and out of the church, where several priests were gathered. Right in the center of the sky, there was a glowing circle that took up most of the sky. Its crimson color was imposing and seemed almost like a bottomless hole that opened up and took over the stars. Such a sight was probably visible to everyone in Fuyuki, perhaps even on some satellite. And Santiago knew very well what that was.

This was a sign that the Holy Grail was active or at least functioning. He remembered very well when he arrived in Fuyuki, the Holy Church's concerns about Kirei Kotomine and the ritual itself. The same red circle took over the skies for an eternity before falling apart.

Now, it had returned to torment them, displaying twelve rays of light coming out of the circle, swaying almost like a serpent and even looking like the sun. The first ray of light went out. And that in itself gave the priest a bad feeling.

"Father Santiago, do you know what's going on?" In a way, he knew but hoped he was wrong.

"Something bad. Go to the Emiya residence now and find Shion! The rest go to Shinto and prepare for a possible evacuation!" If the earthquake happened again, Santiago would be sure to save everyone in the city, no matter the cost. "And be quick! We're running out of time!"

The old man looked at that circle again, with only eleven rays of light, knowing that it should indicate a countdown for something that would happen, but what? That's what he needed to find out, and his instinct was that whatever was happening, it had to do with Shion.

And he feared what could have happened to him and what would happen to everyone if they found him in time.

Nothing worked! Shion had tried to open the door with everything! Chairs, doors, knives, spoons, forks, pipes, stones, he used everything and more! And nothing could open that damn door! The frustration was palpable, and you could feel she was reaching a dead end. That's when Shion thought for a bit, looking at all the objects he had brought that had failed to damage the door.

However, what if he tried to damage himself? The shadow was behind this, and, as far as he knew, it would never allow anything to happen to him. She could use this as a form of blackmail! At the same time, the boy grabbed one of the knives he had used and pointed it at his abdomen. "Listen carefully, shadow! I'm going to give you three seconds to open this door, or I'm going to stick this knife in my stomach!"

Still, the door didn't move, but there was no going back. It was possible, but Shion was already too frustrated and determined to back down. It was then that he moved the knife against his torso and... boing. The knife acted as if it was rubber, with no chance of piercing even his clothes. This only frustrated Shion more, feeling that he was getting closer to figuring out a way to get the door open, but also angry at the way the shadow was sabotaging his plans.

"Oh yeah? Then I'm going to choke on this rubber until you open the door!" She threatened, putting the rubber knife in her mouth, swallowing it, and then noticed that it had turned into liquid as soon as it entered her mouth. Even worse, it had become peach juice, her favorite!

So, even if he tried to hurt himself, or choke, or any other action that involved hurting himself with an object, the shadow always found a way to stop him. That's when Shion knew he would have to go to extremes. The boy jumped very high, climbing onto the roof of the house and looking at the ground.

This could end in two ways, where he could break his neck, the shadow would find a way for him not to get hurt, or the shadow would save him and open the door. Anyway, he didn't want to stay in that dream for another minute. So he ran and jumped head-first toward the ground, expecting impact.

What happened was that the ground itself turned to rubber, with Shion sinking into it and then being thrown upwards, bouncing on the ground a few times until stopping and becoming solid again. "What the hell!" That's when he lost his temper, entered the house, and started throwing everything on the floor, breaking the walls, which were made of paper. He was furious and had already lost his mind as soon as he realized that he never felt pain while he was in that place.

It was something so artificial and perfect that it disgusted him. It caused pain in his chest while his entire stomach turned upside down. She couldn't accept this. He wouldn't accept that! And while he was going through everything in the house, there was a time when he broke a bedside table in one of the bedrooms, which had a key inside. Shion's outburst of anger stopped at that moment.

That key... was his house key. Which means he could open the door with it! How could he have been so stupid and not gone looking for a key sooner?! Anyway, it didn't matter now. The boy ran towards the door, rejuvenated. With the hope of getting out of there. Now, all he had to do was put in the key and open the door.

That's if the keyhole hadn't become narrow as soon as the key was getting close, preventing it from being used. The anger felt shouldn't be something possible for humans. Shion just walked a few meters away from the door, taking distance, and as soon as it was enough, he started running. With his target being that damn door.

His head was the trunk that would open his way, or so it seemed, as he barely reached the door, it turned into rubber too. However, the boy continued advancing. Because that was what Shion wanted. Then he pulled out the key and put it in the lock. Even though it was narrow, it was now easy to adapt to the key's size because the door was of rubber.

There was enormous resistance to being able to turn the key as if someone was trying to stop him, but he didn't give up. And finally, the door unlocked. He opened it and took a step outside of the Emiya residence. "That's right! Take that, shadow! Suck my diiiiiiii—!" And before he finished, his back hit something, or rather, someone.

When he looked back, it was a scene that seemed mundane. A boy and a girl. Shion had just bumped into the boy as he walked out the door. The girl had striking similarities to him while the boy... it couldn't be.

That red hair, could it be? The violet-haired boy tried to surround the redhead, but suddenly, a hole opened beneath him, making him fall, and the sunlight, along with that scene, was left aside.

With only a few words left for the boy as he sank into darkness. Being the same voice he heard before.

"This place... my... our home. This is a place I wish I had never left."

A/N: Things are about to get real for Shion, can't wait to show it in the next chapters. Hope you liked it! And see you next time!