On a random street in Shinto, a woman was now leaving the cafe after finishing her shift.

It was a long day, and the journey home would be just as long, but nothing unusual for her. It was just another night. As she walked down the street, several people looked up at the sky, taking photos and videos, but she didn't care. She was exhausted and just wanted to go home soon.

Or at least that's what she thought. Was she really that tired? Wasn't she curious to know what that whole crowd was looking at? This feeling of doubt was strange, but it could just be tiredness. Yeah, that should be it. Why would it be anything other than that?

The woman continued on her way. Looking at her cell phone as she walked. She just focused on the screen. Running her fingers through the apps but hardly checked the notifications or the calls that... were piling up. But why?

Her eyes started to hurt from looking at the screen so much, so she decided to rest. Put the cell phone in her bag, not even noticing the many messages from her mother, which continued to come every minute.

"Maya, where are you?"

"You should've arrived an hour ago."

"Is everything alright?"

"Hello?"

Five missed calls later.

"Maya, is this some joke? Are you mad at me?"

"You're scaring me, please answer."

And more messages came in the next minutes. The woman hadn't even realized she left the city. In fact, at that moment, she found herself in a forest. With an empty look in her eyes. As if her body was moving, but her mind was asleep until she stopped, looking at the floor for a few moments, and finally woke up.

"What...? Huh? Where am I?! How did I get here?! I was going home and…" Before she continued, her ears heard a sound coming from behind. That sound wasn't from an animal. Much less from a human being. That sound wasn't from anything that could exist in this world. At that moment, the woman felt as if she was about to die.

It's similar to the moment someone will suffer a car accident, where the victim can't move, going into shock before the hit. However, now the moment passed slowly, she couldn't move, even though she knew the danger was coming.

By instinct, luck, or bad luck, her head managed to turn enough to look back. And there was a creature that made her panic just by looking at it.

It was a shadow that floated towards her. It was like a lion circling its prey. The woman's heart was beating nonstop, with tears running down her eyes and her body paralyzed. It was the end of her. That's where she would die.

"Not today!" A scream sounded in her ear, seeing several blades thrown towards the shadow, and it made the eldritch being move away. Consequently, the woman was allowed to move and breathe again. "Are you okay?" In front of her appeared an old priest who carried those same blades. And with a movement of his hand, made those he threw return to him. Almost as if he had used a power like telekinesis.

"I-I-I-I-I..." Her voice didn't come out. She looked like she was going to faint, but fear kept her awake. She wanted to vomit, but her body didn't respond to that urge. It was then that the priest placed a hand on her shoulder. It seemed like a simple gesture, but Maya felt much better, like magic.

"Don't worry, there's no need to say anything. Just go, run as fast as you can, and don't look back." The woman nodded, beginning her marathon to escape that situation while the priest stayed. Looking at the shadow that was watching him. "So, do you want to explain to me what in Hell's name you think you're doing?"

Silence. He should've expected much. He never heard this creature speak. It wouldn't be now that it would answer him, right? Wrong. At that moment, the shadow began to take on a different shape, a more humanoid and feminine shape, with eyes and a disturbing smile. And this silhouette, despite Santiago having only seen it in photos, was very reminiscent of Sakura Matou.

"Nice to meet you, Father Santiago... you know, I've always wanted to talk to you. A shame we can only do it now in this situation." Her voice was feminine but distorted. It was like hearing her on the radio.

"Ditto. After all, I always thought that when I spoke to Shion's family, whoever that relative could be, it would be in a more pleasant situation. Perhaps with tea and a cupcake. Not on the brink of possible disaster. Especially not with his mother." Santiago flashed a smile, trying to hide how nervous he was. He hoped that considering this thing could talk and think, and maybe they could agree on a deal. "Where is Shion?"

"My baby is sleeping now. I want him to wake up after I manage to rewrite this world. It will be a paradise, just for me and my son. There, he will not be able to suffer, and he will not be able to die." It seems that Illyasviel's theory was right. The boy must have suffered some fatal attack and be in a state between life and death. So the best thing to do was to distract the shadow, to give time to think of a plan.

"And how are you going to do that? It seems impossible. Don't tell me you're going to use the Grail?"

"The Grail? That pile of putrified flesh? No. That is no longer useful to me. But it was a good source of food for those seventeen years." Now, this left Santiago confused, raising an eyebrow. "I will summon seven servants and use their souls, with Shion serving as the Lesser Grail and I as the Greater Grail, to grant our wish."

That's a lot of assumptions, no assurance, and she wants to cheat her way to victory. This was the recipe for a disaster, yet the priest couldn't help but ask. "What do you mean by food source? And with "pile of putrified flesh"? I thought the Grail was just asleep."

"And it was, at least in the beginning. However, after its last attempt to complete itself, which caused the earthquake, the Grail fell asleep. That allowed me to use the stored mana. With that, I stayed alive all these years." Wait. If Santiago remembered, magecraft always has the law of equivalent exchange for anything. So, even in something as bizarre as this, there should be an exchange.

"What was the payment for something like this? To use the Grail while keeping it on this plane... there must be a price, right?" And it was at that moment that the priest saw that disturbing smile increase even more.

"Why do you think the mud keeps appearing to this day?"

"What?" Shion asked in a low tone. Right now, he was having a very similar conversation inside the dream world. With the princess on his shoulder and Sir Sword in his hand while that fantasy world was abandoned a few minutes ago. "So... you mean the mud appears to this day... because of you?"

"Exactly, sweetheart. That's why, one way or another, continuing to clean mud pits is useless. Still, everyone saw you as someone with value. That's why I allowed this charade to continue. I knew that magi were not to be trusted. They only care about value. And the church only cares about heretics and vampires. So you needed something to do so they wouldn't discard you." Despite his supposed mother showing something that looked like genuine concern, Shion was furious.

"Are you kidding me?! Does that mean I would do this for the rest of my life without ever finishing?! I'm always swallowing that shit after I'm done! You know that, right?!" His screams echoed through the cave while the little princess on his shoulder tried to calm him down.

"Calm, calm." A pat on his cheek managed to hold him back slightly, but his gaze was still full of anger.

"Please, sweetheart, stop with the whining. After all, we both know this is the only thing you are truly good at." And that was enough to enrage the boy. The small girl's attempts to calm him were useless as the violet-haired boy ran towards the shadow.

With Sir Sword in his hands, he took a huge leap, aiming a sharp blow at the shadow, wanting to end it. Once and for all.

However, things did not go as expected, as the tentacles protected the shadow, forming a dome around her. And then came one more that threw young Emiya away. Rolling towards the entrance of the cave, for fear of the princess getting hurt, he managed to grab the little girl in his hands to protect her. So, Sir Sword was left aside and landed nearby, planting himself in the ground.

"Don't get me wrong. I understand your pain. At that time, if I could, I would have isolated myself too. I would also try to seek comfort in a hobby or any distraction that does not involve others. In the end, we are equal. Because I also found someone who made me feel loved. And I pushed him away in an attempt to protect him. Because I was afraid of hurting him."

Shion grunted as he felt his arms and legs raw after falling so badly. His body shook with fear, but anger allowed him to get up.

"That's when I realized. We don't need to be afraid. We are strong! The others should be afraid of us! We deserve everything that exists in this world! And we can take whatever we want! Whenever we want!"

"You're wrong!" The sword shouted. "That is pure selfishness! Young Shion is not like you! He may even want the best for himself. But we all want that for ourselves! And when he faces a situation where someone could get hurt, he puts himself in second place! Just now, he could have balanced himself without any problem, but he decided to protect the princess and take the fall!"

"Oh yeah. The princess he wanted to abandon so he wouldn't get hurt?" The group ended up feeling some pressure with this topic. "Yes, everyone can talk about how he saved the princess. But the truth is that this was not the result of any ideal or conviction. My sweetheart was just put against the wall by you. Either he fought, or he would feel guilty about your death, little hero. And then it was a matter of being smart. If his plan hadn't worked, he would have just let it go."

"Agh..." The worst part was that Shion couldn't deny it. Of course, he wouldn't go to extreme lengths to save someone he doesn't know. Not without knowing that he had a way to survive or some plan B. And, in the past, his plan B was always the shadow. However, she was his enemy now. "... that doesn't matter now! I've never hurt someone who didn't deserve it, much less killed someone! And I won't let you destroy the whole city because of me!"

"Oh yeah? And do you happen to understand what happens if I don't? If the ritual is not completed, then you will not survive."

This left the boy frozen, staring at the shadow. When the height of his life had compared to others, he had no way of lying. If someone asked him if he would sacrifice the lives of thousands of strangers for his own, he would answer yes. Such a question made his brain stop, not even noticing the shadow tentacles that were appearing behind him.

"That shot. That was something I couldn't heal, not without giving something in return. All I accomplished was bringing you into the shadow. And for us to get out of here, something has to be offered. A payment in blood. Either a huge amount of souls or a huge amount of mana. Or both. Doesn't matter if they belong to criminals or innocent people."

"You bastard!" Shion screamed, running towards her until he was caught by the tendrils that held him in place. Preventing him from grabbing Sir Sword while the knight tries to return to his original form, but with the blade stuck, he is unable to do so. "Let go of me, shadow!"

"Shhh… worry not, it will all be over soon, sweetheart. And we can finally live together in an ideal world. No more worries." As she said that, the tentacles began to wrap around Shion more, almost making a cocoon around, to silence him and prevent him from moving.

"Shion!" Shouted the princess, not knowing what to do in that situation. So, without much choice, she ran and jumped into the cocoon to be next to Shion. With the cocoon finishing closing at that moment.

"Damn it! Let go of me!"

Santiago almost died from a huge fall. Fortunately, he learned to improvise even in the worst situations. Then he threw four White Keys onto the ground, forming a square that soon created a mana cube. Also called prayer power by the Holy Church. Usually this cube was a barrier to hold any creature that was inside. However, it was possible to change the properties of the summon a little.

And now, it was a cube of gelatinous energy, with the priest falling on top of it and jumping a little until he landed on the ground. And then the White Keys returned to his hand. "That move got me for a second, you know? You could go easy on this old man."

"I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I'm grateful for taking care of my son until now. But if you continue to oppose me... I'll have to kill you. I can't let you stay in the way of me and the perfect world for my son."

"And that's what Shion wants?" The question infuriated Sakura, who launched some of her tentacles at Santiago, but he was faster. The priest used his White Keys to block the blows. Just direct contact with the weapons made a golden glow appear, and this burned the tips of the tentacles as if they were paper against the fire, with the creature letting out an angry growl.

"Bastard! Don't act like you want the best for my son! Do you think that just because you named him and took care of him, you know more than his mother? Don't be so arrogant!"

The shadow attacked again. This time, Santiago had to move away and dodge an attack that almost caught him in an area of effect. That same area was swallowed by the shadow, with all life there dying in less than a second.

"You left him to live alone in that house full of memories of his father! You never insisted that he live with others if he didn't want to! Not even going to school! And you let him live in this world of magi! They look at my son as a freak! And you know that!"

Another attack, this time, several of those tendrils came towards the priest, who did not flee but moved forward. Dodging each blow and taking the opportunity to cut the tentacles, which burst into flames when in contact with his White Keys.

"Now he can't even have a normal life! And if this world rejects my son, then I will raise a better one!"

After this scream, the priest was already very close to the shadow, with his eyes shining in gold, and then he kicked the creature's torso. And instead of just passing by her ghostly form, that kick hit her, sending her against some trees. Of course, that impact didn't hurt, but the kick... that's another story. It was as if a component in those blades and around the priest caused an adverse reaction to the shadow.

"... it's true that I made a mistake. I thought giving Shion the space he wanted would be best for him. In my time, we were practically forced to work and wouldn't even graduate from elementary school." Again, tentacles came to attack him. However, Santiago blocked them using his blades with great effort. "I thought giving him the freedom I didn't have was a good thing. But now I see... I was avoiding responsibility!

As he opened his arms, the tendrils were thrown to the sides, allowing the priest to advance once more, slashing them with his black blades. Burning the limbs of that monster coming from beyond. There was even a moment when the shadow opened and released several tentacles in an attempt to stop him. However, his arms moved faster than the human eye could follow, cutting through everything in their path and, as he cut, causing the remains to catch fire.

And, against all odds and his enemy's expectations, Santiago was face to face with Sakura, piercing her body with the White Keys. It felt the same as having flaming iron against his skin.

"Just like what you did. Being just a shadow. Always protecting from everything, never allowing to feel the difficulties of life and its battles."

"Why you... augh!" The feeling of those blades moving inside her body was enough to destabilize the entire composition of the shadow. It was as if the soul and body wanted to separate.

"And even so, Shion still makes me very proud! He continues to work hard every day! Even when he would like to rest. He's trying to live the way he wants, even though I know he can go further than that! He never asked for a penny for the work YOU put on him because of his selfishness! For this and several other reasons... I say... WAKE UP SOON YOU LAZY BUTT! IT'S TIME TO WORK!"

One punch was enough to pierce the dark cocoon that enveloped the boy, with light coming from within. Such light caused the entire cocoon to turn to stone, making it easier for Shion to break it from the inside out.

"Thanks, princess, I owe you one." Shion said, patting the little girl's head, which she just laughed embarrassedly. "And owe you one too, geezer." The boy looked up. He sure heard the priest's voice. With the space around shaking and even cracking. Inside these cracks, a bright golden light appeared. Something very familiar to young Emiya.

"Why… why… why, why, why, why, why, WHY?! Why do you reject my love?! Everything I'm doing is so that you and I can live in a better world! A world just for the two of us! What more could you want?!" Shion sighed, scratching his head, as he went to pick up Sir Sword.

"So, the idea of finally being able to live with my mother is very tempting. And in a world where there is no death, no pain? Then I would have been convinced already... but I have a little problem. If there's just you and me in the world, how am I supposed to date someone? When I realized that, you lost my interest." A silence fell between them. Both Sakura, the sword, and the princess could hardly believe what the boy said, especially because of how stupid it sounded at a moment like this.

"Are you serious...? Are you going to reject a perfect world with me... because you want to date?!"

"Did I stutter? Considering you're my mother, you should understand. And I'm not going to be relieving myself for the rest of a supposed immortal existence." The shadow was baffled with what she was hearing. "And there's more…!"

Shion dashed towards the shadow, now paying attention to the tentacles, passing the blade close to the princess, who infused some of her magic into her. And when he cut one of the tendrils, it turned into stone and fell to the ground. Then, another one was shattered into dust with a single blow.

"There's Toshiro, while annoying, is the best brother I could ask for!" Another tentacle was destroyed in one blow, which started to scare the shadow. "Then there's also Lucio. He's my partner in crime. I could never make a contract like that without talking to him first!"

The boy took advantage and launched a blast of energy, using the blade and the princess' power, cutting several of the shadow's limbs, which enraged her even more. At that moment, a dark giant appeared, which looked at the boy and tried to crush him. However, he climbed onto its hand and headed towards what appeared to be its face.

"And let's not forget the old man! I would never forgive myself if I let him down! And between school, dating, and learning how to cook an egg! There are many other things I want to do!" After jumping in front of that titan, he cut it in half after sticking the sword in its eye and going down its body. And, when he landed on the ground, he came face to face with the being who called herself his mother. "But... I want to go through all this with you by my side. Can't we go back to what was before? I don't care if you're a shadow or a monster… I just want us to stay together."

Again, silence reigned between them, with the two looking at each other. The shadow then looked at the sword in the boy's hand. Created through the memories of the one to whom she gave her heart. And there was the princess, who was the remains of her innocence and kindness. At that moment, the creature pondered whether it should just give up.

But only for a second.

"I… I… I can't." At that moment, one of the shadow tendrils emerged from the ground, hitting Shion's hand. However, her real target was Sir Sword. When the boy turned his gaze upon him, the knight had been torn into pieces. Dissipating into golden dust.

"SIR SWORD!" The princess screamed, soon being grabbed by one of the tentacles and pulled away from Shion, who ended up in a situation similar to before, with his arms and legs grabbed by the tendrils, only this time, they kept pressure so he couldn't move a muscle.

"Bastard! You killed him!"

"Don't worry, he can be remade with what's left of my memories..." Shion swore he saw a tear running down Sakura's face. "...now, it's time for you and me to build our new home, sweetheart. Just wait a little longer, please."

"Stop!" Shouted the princess, trying to let go. "This was not it...! That's not what we wanted! All we wanted was to keep Shion safe, right? I'm part of you, and I know you want to protect him... but do you think it's all worth it?"

"...yes...it's worth it...for me."

And with a movement of her hand, the tentacle tightened, and Princess Sakura exploded into several cherry blossom petals. Leaving nothing more than that behind. The violet-haired boy opened his eyes wide at the execution, not knowing what to say or what to do. With one of the petals falling on top of his nose.

It was then that his mind wandered to the conversation he had with the little girl. The way she wanted to know more about him, being really interested in his tastes, his habits, everything that concerned him... and now... she was gone.

That part of his mother is gone.

The moment he thought he was losing strength, that's when a flame started burning inside him. So literally that his body burst into flames out of nowhere. That burned the tentacles that were holding him down. This fire was pink in color, like the cherry blossoms, and the boy's eyes glowed the same color.

"I… I will never forgive you!" He shouted, charging towards the shadow, which summoned even more tentacles to protect hserself.

However, all these parts of himself suffered the same fate, being pulled and ripped from their origin while being burned just by coming into contact with the flaming boy. It was then that the shadow went over her limit and created three more dark titans like those from before. Only to be terrified when she saw Shion climbing on top of them, similar to a squirrel that climbs up trees. However, he wasn't a squirrel, and when he reached the top, he punched it in the eye and set its entire body on fire.

This was repeated with the other two, where the boy jumped from one giant to the other and killed it with a single blow. While the third and last had its arm ripped off by the boy's teeth before he climbed up and passed through the giant's body. Now, he fell towards the one who was said to be his mother, trying one last effort to use all of his body and form a hand, which should have grabbed the boy.

However, something unexpected happened.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He screamed, but it wasn't just a scream. It sounded like the scream of a banshee. And somehow, Sakura could feel that her entire structure was deconstructed because of those sound waves. Ends up with her on the ground and Shion on top of her, starting to punch her in the face without caring about anything else.

This thing didn't deserve to live! He was going to make her suffer for everything she did! He was going to finish her off! He was going to kill her! He would... devour her!

However, that's when the boy stopped for a few seconds. The flames that surrounded his body dissipated, allowing him to observe that being beneath him. Her face was a pitiful mess, even looking like a tattered cloth, with several holes that showed that her insides were purely made of mud.

He knew very well why He stopped, he was feeling sorry. Sorry for a woman who just wanted a world where she didn't have to worry about her son dying. Someone who suffered a lot in the past and didn't know a better way to resolve things.

And that's when a risky idea crossed his mind.

"Trace Off." Just like he did with the mud pits, the boy took control of everything. Over the shadow, over the dream, everything was now within reach of his fingertips. It was just a matter of deciding what to do.

And the answer was obvious. Shion started to gather all those bad feelings into one point. That obsession, that anger, that sadness. Everything his mother had carried for over seventeen years was being gathered. The space itself lost details and turned white until, in the end, only Shion was left. Alone and a sphere in his hand.

It was a similar situation to every time he finished cleaning a mud pit. So the boy just opened his mouth and swallowed that sphere. He waited for all kinds of things. Either something related to those worms he saw earlier, memories of a horrible past, or even the pain of losing everything his mother loved. But that's not what happened.

When she opened her eyes, Shion was now in a park, in the middle of a stone path that led somewhere. And, around him, several cherry trees. He barely remembered the last time he saw a landscape like this. For some reason, the cherry trees in Fuyuki no longer bloomed. The most he saw were those roots that had the little cherry blossoms on them.

"That was our promise." This voice. When he turned around, there she was. Instead of a dark creature or a little princess from a fantasy kingdom. In front of him was the real Sakura Matou, Shion Emiya's mother. "Your father and I promised to see the cherry blossoms together… it's a shame that promise never came true."

"You… are you really…?" Shion slowly stood up, feeling his legs weaken after everything that had happened. "...you look a lot more like the princess than the shadow."

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier. The situation wasn't the best. But that part of me always wanted to know more about you. The truth is that I have always watched you and protected you. But I never really tried to get to know you. Still, I love you and always will." The boy took a few steps towards her. "It's okay. I don't mind if you hate me because now I know this was meant to be. I just wanted to... ah!"

Before she could continue, the boy's arms hugged the woman strongly. Unable to stop himself from letting out a soft cry, muffled by having his face sink into her chest. "You idiot… there's no way I could hate you. I just... I just wish you were by my side. For me, that would be enough."

Sakura looked at the boy for a few seconds, biting her lower lip to hold back the tears before hugging him back. "I'm sorry... I'm a terrible mother. I protected you from everything that could hurt you, and when I couldn't, I tried to live your life for myself. No mother should do something like that."

"That does not matter! Now we can start over! Let's get out of here!" The youngest looked at the woman's face and held her hand, trying to pull her to come with him. However, her hand slipped from his. "Huh?"

"I would like to... in fact, I don't think anything would make me happier... but I can't. I need to act like a real mother. And stop being selfish."

"What you mean...? Let's go! The path is right in front of us." And before Shion could get any closer, cherry tree roots appeared out of nowhere, trapping his arms and legs, tying him to a tree, preventing him from leaving. "Hey, what is this?!"

"For you to be born... I gave my body. To protect you... I gave my mind. To bring you back... I caused trouble for a lot of people. But it didn't need to be like that. Now I will pay for it. For you to return, I will give my soul."

"Your soul?! No! Wait! I do not want this!" And with one last solemn smile, Sakura turned, walking towards the horizon, slowly being swallowed by the light. Tears ran down Shion's face, trying to break free, but it seemed useless. "No! Come back here! Please! Mother! Mom!"

But Sakura couldn't listen anymore.

Her choice was made, and she would keep it like that. For herself, for her son... and even for him.

"You sure took your time, huh?" The voice in her ears made her heart beat faster than ever. Looking to the side and seeing a red-haired figure with his back turned to her. "I was waiting for you."

A smile blossomed, tears falling down her eyes. And with a few steps, now she stood side by side with the one who gave her so much happiness. The one who made her feel loved. And the one who gave her the greatest gift in the world. That was to be a mother to a wonderful son.

"Yes, I'm sorry for keep you waiting, Senpai."

A/N: This will probably hold the trophy for the best chapter I wrote in my heart. I know that place won't hold for long, but right now, I think this is such a high note that I could finish the fanfic in the next chapter as a epilogue and be satisfied. But there's still a lot of story that I want to tell. And I hope those who are already following from the first chapter, or just came in and are getting to know the story, will stay in for the ride.

Oh yeah, the first artwork of the fanfict dropped in my friend's Instagram, you can check it in his Insta, detectivewhitin, and more will come when he finishes all his own projects.

And me? I'll take a bit of a break before coming with the interlude for the next arc. Probably I'll divide it as in little stories since we'll have 1 month timeskip between this and the next arc in the story.