A/N: So, you know about what I said last chapter about dividing this brief storyline into three chapters and would make them smaller to not take so much time to post? Well, it'll still be only three chapters, but surely won't be small anymore lol What can I say? I got inspired! I hope you like it!

This is taking too long.

It had been a few minutes since Shion had been falling. This seemed to be a bottomless hole. With his only company being the darkness and some voices echoing. However, there were many of them, and they spoke too quietly for the boy to hear.

Fortunately, the wait soon was over. With his back laying against something solid, almost a wall. Now, it felt like sliding down a water slide.

But it wasn't water that awaited him at the end, but mud. The violet-haired boy was thrown into a mud puddle, landing on his face. A sigh left his lips, seeing that the mud wouldn't leave him even when he was dreaming. Maybe this will be my life sentence. Although, when some of that mud got into his mouth, he noticed it wasn't mud but chocolate.

This already made him lift his head, excited and tasting more of that chocolate puddle, at least until he was hit with a flood of water that cleaned him off and ended up with the sweet puddle beneath him. When he looked to the side, there was a colorful elephant, just like those birds he saw at home. Good, more strange animals to watch over me.

And even worse, it left him all wet. Assuming that the elephant was only good for that, he was ready to leave, but, luckily, the animal was faster and used its trunk to launch a blast of hot air. That dried his clothes and his hair. "Okay, that came in handy. Thanks, hydro-elephant." Shion gave the colorful elephant a thumbs up, and it walked away.

Now that he had more time to look around him, it was obvious that he wasn't in Fuyuki. It looked like a recreation of some little fairy world out of a children's book. Everything was bright, colorful, and alive. It even hurt his eyes if he looked too much.

Without much of a choice, Shion stretched a little, feeling her muscles a little tight because of all that time falling into the void. And he started running to get to the village, not wanting to waste even a second. Who knows what the shadow is doing while I'm unconscious?

"Father Santiago!" The call was unexpected and made the priest almost jump out of his seat when he turned and saw Toshiro entering the church. It was a long way to get to Miyama, mainly because they decided to turn around to avoid anyone seeing them. But finally, they had arrived at their destination, with Lucio carrying the Einzbern girl.

"Toshiro! I'm glad you're okay, my son. I've been calling you, but you didn't answer!" When he went to check, the young priest had almost twenty missed calls on his cell phone. He could have checked as soon as they entered the city. The worrying look from the old man hurt Toshiro. Knowing that he should've picked up at least one call from him. "It looks like young Karma is with you and… wait, who is this girl?"

"It's a long story." Said the summoner, going to one of the church pews and placing the young maiden lying on it, with the three surrounding her to keep an eye on her condition. "But, trying to be brief, she is a homunculus of the Einzbern family and, according to a vampire, is the Lesser Grail."

"Say what?!"

"It's hard to believe, but it's the truth, Father." Even Toshiro had a hard time believing in this situation, sighing heavily. "We found a Dead Apostle, and he was after this girl, said she was the key to getting the Grail. And that it wasn't destroyed. It's just dormant. That's why he wanted to use the girl to complete it since she's the Lesser Grail."

"This… this is a lot to take in." Santiago placed a hand on his forehead, looking at the white-haired girl. Only now, he remembered his interactions with the Einzbern, and all of their homunculi had the same physical characteristics as the girl. "But why is she still sleeping? Is she hurt?"

"No, the vampire used a drug to put her to sleep. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, she seems to know Shion's father." This surprised the old man, feeling like he was seeing puzzle pieces thrown in front of him. But it was impossible to connect them.

"Speaking of which, where is Shion? Was he with you?"

"So... Shion stayed to fight a duplicate of the Dead Apostle." Santiago's eyes widened in surprise and horror. And Toshiro said right away. "But he managed to beat him! The other duplicate even told us. The problem is we don't know where he is. For a moment, we thought he would have gotten here before us."

"Unfortunately not. I even sent some priests to find him, mainly because of that thing in the sky. That is a sign that the Grail is active, or at least it will be active." Both boys gulped upon hearing this. "That's why I even ordered them to contact all types of contacts in the emergency services. To prepare in case we need to evacuate people from the city."

Even so, everything was very scattered. It was impossible to know for sure if this was happening because of the boy with violet hair or because the little girl felt threatened. There were just a lot of variables.

And the one who had the answers was in a deep sleep. However, Santiago knew if they wanted to solve this problem, they needed to wake the girl up. The problem was how to do this. He didn't know what drug the vampire used, and it could have had some adverse effects if he used anything without any prior examination.

Not to mention that it was a homunculus. What precautions should be taken? There were so many questions, and they didn't have time to wait for an answer.

"Our only option is to wait for her to wake up and give us the answers we need. And wait for Shion to show up. Before something worse happens." And when he looked outside, he could see that another one of the rays of light around the circle had disappeared. There were only nine left, and if his math was right, every thirty-five minutes, another ray disappeared.

In other words, now, they had another five hours to solve this problem. It might seem like a lot but considering that it had been two hours since the circle appeared, there was a chance that five hours wouldn't be enough.

Good thing Shion wasn't sedentary. Or else the time it took to get here would have left him out of breath. Either way, there was the village he had seen before. A village inhabited by colorful animals and some even anthropomorphic. Plus, some creatures were objects instead of animals.

Everyone lived in harmony and didn't even care about Shion. It was like he was like any other in their vision. They said good morning to him, despite being night, and treated him in a friendly way. Which wasn't bad, just strange for not responding in the same way, much less being sociable like the inhabitants of this place.

And with each step, he got closer to that castle. Fit for royalty, and he could only imagine the interior. As he barely got close to those huge doors, his path was blocked by two huge living suits of armor. "Hey, what gives?! I want to pass!"

"No one will pass until further notice, sorry. Come back later." Sadly, Shion did not take no for an answer. Taking a few steps back and immediately went to the door, attempting to get past the guards. However, they grabbed him and threw him back in a second. "Come back later." They repeat, this time more firmly than before.

It seems like he wouldn't be able to pass that easily. There must be another way. Maybe he could get someone to help him. However, now he was defeated. So, the only way now was to return to the village and stop in a small square, just looking at the people going about their lives normally. And that's when he noticed something curious.

This village looked like a smaller version of Fuyuki, where the houses and buildings were the right size for the animals and objects. So small, unlike that elephant at the beginning or the guards at the castle door. There was even a Miyama and a Shinto, but the bridge also led to the castle instead of just being a space that led to both areas.

"Hey! Excuse me, could you get off my store?" Asked a black cat with two bows in her ears, looking quite annoyed with Shion on top of her sales stand. Although to him, it looked like just a seat.

"Ah, my bad." Then the boy got up, leaving the cat to do her work and walk around the city while he looked at the castle. It was something quite different if you considered how rural the village looked.

As Shion wondered who the people who lived there were, a voice came to his ears, almost answering his doubts. "It's beautiful, isn't it? A shame you can't get inside." Behind the boy, there was a small knight. With white and red armor, as well as golden brown eyes. "The castle has been closed since the princess disappeared."

"Oh, the one who reigns over these lands is a princess?" It's better to enter this somewhat medieval and fantastic atmosphere, as he would receive answers more easily from the knight this way. With the same nodding. "But people don't seem too worried that the princess is missing, do they? That's weird."

Now that he thought about it, could this be the dream of someone who possessed the shadow before him? After all, the shadow would have come from somewhere. And it certainly belonged to someone.

Maybe these were all latent thoughts? Just thinking like that made his head hurt from using his brain so much. The important thing is that if he found that princess, maybe the shadow would let him go, or at least he would be able to get closer to finding it.

"Who are you? And how do you know that?" Despite this, he still had time to distrust the knight, who had appeared at an opportune moment.

"My name is Sir Sword! And I was one of the knights closest to the princess. Until her disappearance. Then I was put aside because they didn't believe I knew where the princess was."

"And you do?"

"Of course! An evil wizard kidnapped her! But I don't have the strength to defeat him alone. I was waiting for some worthy soul to appear so I could save him."

Okay, I'm starting to like this call to adventure. Shion smiled, getting excited and crossing his arms as he looked at the knight. "Alright, Sir Sword. I will help you. On the condition that I can enter the castle as soon as we save the princess."

"I swear on my honor that you will have access to even the deepest parts of the castle once we save you!" Where he would probably find the shadow.

"Alright then, where is the princess?"

"She is in the swamp of worms. No one dares to go there for fear of being devoured by them. Even I wouldn't stand a chance, but something tells me you will have no problem walking through such filthy terrain." Considering how he couldn't hurt himself a few minutes ago while in that projection of his house. It wouldn't be a problem.

"If you say." After all, until now, the shadow has always protected him against anything. "Let's go then."

"Onward, to the adventure!" Now, he had a feeling that he might end up getting tired of this Sir Sword if continued to talk like this, but perhaps he would get better along the way.

A blur. A sharp sting on the neck. And then the vision of a red circle surrounded by rays of light. Which gradually disappeared. As well a strong pain in the chest. This is how Illyasviel von Einzbern spent the last few hours while he was unconscious.

Being reminded of the last moments before falling asleep and having that image in her mind. That meant something. So, imagine her surprise when she woke up, went to the nearest window, and saw that same circle in Fuyuki's sky, reminding her that such a phenomenon was connected to the Holy Grail.

This made her heart race, feeling the pain in her chest increase. However, there was no time to worry about that now. After all, she had to explain some things to the people who saved her from the vampire. And to think she only came to finally meet her nephew, whom she was forbidden to see all these years.

Was this punishment for her escape?

"So, are you going to tell us what's going on, lady Einzbern?" Asked the old priest, arms crossed and looking at her with a penetrating gaze. After that last priest that she met in Fuyuki, Illya was a bit hesitant about trusting this one.

"You might as well offer me a cup of tea, right?" She snorted, crossing her arms, and was soon presented with a mug of hot chocolate and marshmallows, which surprised Illya. As she looked at the one offering her this, she saw Toshiro, who had a gentle expression, and this made her a little embarrassed as she took the mug and drank. "Thanks."

"Sorry. We're in a rush, it's just been quite a night. And we need answers, also because we have a possible disaster on our hands. I hope you understand." Despite her distrust, the white-haired girl noticed that the old man didn't want the worst to happen. Different from the other priests.

So, she decided to be honest. "Very well... my name is Illyasviel von Einzbern. I am a homunculus created as the Lesser Grail in the Fifth Holy Grail War. The one that, as you may already know, was what caused the earthquake here in Fuyuki." Everyone there nodded, feeling the atmosphere around them becoming more tense. The matter was serious. "What that vampire told you is true. The Grail wasn't destroyed in the previous war. Its development was halted due to events unknown to me."

"And that ended up putting it to sleep?" Asked Lucio, the Brazilian who, in Illya's opinion, was the best person she had met since she arrived. With the young priest now being a rival for that title. "And the Fuyuki earthquake happened because of that."

"Exactly. And before I even woke up, I could already see that circle in the sky, so it could only be a Holy Grail thing. For although I was not the one who received the souls of most servants during the fifth war, I still have a connection to the ritual."

"Wait, if you didn't serve as a Lesser Grail in the previous war. Who served?" Illya didn't know if she should tell, thinking about how this was somewhat of a personal matter. Except if her theory about why this was happening was right, then only these people could do something about it.

"The Lesser Grail of the Fifth Holy Grail War was Sakura Matou. Heiress of the Matou family and… well, Shion's mother." This revelation left Toshiro and Lucio surprised. They had never even thought about who Shion's mother would be. However, they knew very well who the Matou were, and just thinking that the boy was heir to one of the great three families that once reigned in Fuyuki was surprising.

The only one who wasn't surprised was Santiago. It had been a while since he saw the student records of the old Homurahara Academy. And found Sakura Matou's. It was obvious, almost undeniable, that she was almost a reflection of Shion in physical traits.

The point is that the entire Matou residence was destroyed during the earthquake, so no clue indicated their involvement in the tragedy. And to think that they created a second Lesser Grail using their heir certainly changed a lot of things they knew about it. And they were told by one of the former participants in the war. Now, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"The Matou have always used methods that even magi would consider unacceptable." Which means that whatever the methods were, they were truly disgusting. "Where they preferred to teach the body to the mind. This caused Sakura to be quite unstable if provoked. Almost walking on a path of self-destruction, at the same time as she tries to stay alive. This culminated in her becoming the Lesser Grail and the deaths of several people."

Illya's face turned even paler upon hearing this. "The shadow? What shadow?"

"Ah, it's something that looks like a jellyfish, you know? Black and with a red gradient at the ends. And he is always with Shion, protecting him from everything." The girl almost fainted again upon hearing this, until she was held by Toshiro. "Whoa, are you okay?"

"I-it can't be. I didn't think you were still here. That's..." The white-haired girl ran her hand over her face, trying to recover, thinking about the situation. "That shadow... is something that came from beyond. Beyond the gate. And she found her space here through Sakura. If this thing continues to exist and still protects Shion..."

"...so that means Sakura Matou didn't die." Santiago concluded with his hand on his chin. "Is it possible that the mind, the soul, or what was left of her is within the shadow?"

"It's a possibility, for sure. And since the Grail was only dormant, Sakura would have complete control over the shadow, and since she is still connected to the Grail, she has an almost unlimited source of mana. Which leads to why all of this is happening. Shion may have died or is seriously injured, and the shadow does not have the resources to heal him or needs to use the Holy Grail to revive him."

"And is that even possible? You know, revive him?"

"No, the Grail was corrupted when my family, the Einzberns, summoned the eighth servant, Avenger. And that is a long story. What matters is that we need to find Shion and stop the shadow." With that said, Santiago got up, went to one of the church doors, and left the group alone for a few minutes. At least until he came back and brought with him a box covered in seals. "What is that?"

"Something I didn't expect to have to use. But it looks like I won't be able to wait any longer." Toshiro was a little worried by the old man's words, although, when he opened the box, he saw that it was not what the boy expected. Inside the box were six keys. However, his dagger was white.

"Are those… Black Keys? But… white?" Lucio asked, unsure of his question and just going by appearance.

"Exactly. They are called White Keys. A family heirloom. It's almost like my own Magic Crest." Santiago took three in one hand, and then his blade came out, which was black as darkness itself.

"Do you intend to kill Shion and the shadow with that?" Illya's question could be a little inconvenient. However, the priest just smiled and walked to the main door.

"No, I will destroy the shadow and bring Shion back. Lucio, notify your parents so they can make all the magi in the city aware of what could happen. Toshiro, try to maintain control of the situation while I'm gone. Lady Einzbern, do you know lady Tohsaka?"

"Ah, yes, I know. In fact, she was the one who helped me get out of the Einzbern mansion." The white-haired girl was surprised by how calm and professional the priest was taking all of this and yet exuding confidence and keeping a smile on his face.

"Great, let her know what's going on and that we'll have a talk later about her keeping so much information from me. Wish me luck, for only a mad God would dare face the wrath of a grieving mother." It almost seemed like a joke, but everyone knew it wasn't funny at all, as that was the reality of the situation.

All that was happening was the mourning of a mother whose son was on the verge of death. The problem is that it could destroy this city and beyond if it continued like this.

Next time a talking suit of armor invites you on an adventure, you might want to tell him to remain silent along the way. Shion could no longer bear Sir Sword's various stories. Like the time he faced a giant, or a terrible witch. Perhaps the best story was how he lost the knight who was his companion. That was emotional and very sad.

But other than that, every story was boring.

Most of them just had Sir Sword doing something stupid because he wanted to be, in his own words, a hero of justice. In Shion's view, the little guy lost more than he gained with this goal.

Even more so because he was a little stubborn about this ideal. Saying that he was going to try to save everyone. And Shion liked the idea, but not how the knight seemed obsessed.

At least they arrived at that worm swamp, and it makes sense why no one comes here. The place was colorless. He couldn't even see the sky. And the worst part was that he could hear the worms crawling everywhere.

"My God, I'm already sickened just hearing these things. Worse is that I don't have a weapon." Since his main weapon and companion was being stubborn and making him go through all this!

However, the moment he said that Sir Sword jumped into his hands, with him revealing himself to be very light. When joining his hands and feet, the armor changed shape, now a sword, with half the blade white and the other black. "Don't worry, young Shion. I will serve as your sword to deal with any threat!"

"Wow, that's cool, I didn't know you could do that." Maybe he could have told this while babbling about his stories. Anyway, a good thing he decided to become a sword right now. For as soon as Shion took a step forward, a worm fell right in front of him. Followed by another, which appeared between the trees. And one more, and another.

When he realized it, Shion was surrounded by monstrous and giant worms. The shape of which sent shivers through the boy's body for some reason. Time to see if the shadow will let him be devoured by worms. Or whether it will make this battle easy. Either way, he'd be grateful if he didn't have to deal with one of those worms touching him.

And even if he died, it wasn't a problem. This is just a dream. Right?

The first worm to appear attacked, and Shion didn't understand how a worm was so fast. The creature opened its mouth with sharp teeth, and the area of its upper lip was cut by the sword swing that the boy threw at it.

"Damn! That's a sharp sword! Why did you need me? You can cut through those worms easily!"

"Well, my blades are a lot weaker when separated. And I'm not able to use myself as a sword. Right?" That makes sense. More than you being a talking armor that turns into a sword. In the end, the boy could only nod, agreeing and cutting another worm down, but this time, it wasn't a piece but in half. "Amazing, you have quite a lot of skill with a sword."

"Kinda, I prefer a spear to a sword. Plus, I also appreciate having a shield."

"Oh… it's an interesting style." Somehow, Shion felt a hint of disappointment in Sir Sword's voice but ignored it as he cuts more worms in half. It didn't matter the angle. He always managed to kill them. The problem was the quantity. For every time he killed one, two more appeared.

"These worms look like those minions that keep spawning in dungeons! But uglier! Sir Sword, do you know where this wizard's house would be?"

"From what I remember, the wizard lives in the darkest part of the swamp. What we are facing now must be the worms in his pit, and they say there are perhaps thousands of worms."

"Thousands?! There's no way I'm going to stay here killing these things for nothing!"

Seeing that the worms kept appearing, it was time for another approach. The boy ran towards one of the worms attacking him and jumped on top of its head, managing to reach one of the tree branches. While the worms were able to climb the trees by crawling, Shion was much faster at jumping from branch to branch and took advantage of the fact that they were thick and supported his weight.

"If we kill the wizard, maybe the worms will die together. That's how it happens in games. Also, we just want to save the princess."

"I see you are a very focused, young Shion. It is a commendable quality."

"Not really. I just don't want to get tired or upset with these things." The sword, even so, chuckled, which carried pride in the boy.

After jumping from branch to branch for a few minutes, Shion finally found the place where the sorcerer was supposed to reside. A huge mansion in the center of a lake. And as he looked at the structure, he felt like he had seen it before. Oh yeah! It's that broken-down mansion, almost at the top of the street.

Strange that it was here, but it made sense considering the village near the castle was a mini Fuyuki.

The strange thing was that this one was the original size of the one in the real world. And, even from the outside, it was possible to feel an evil presence inside the mansion. Revealed when the doors opened, and an old man came out, wearing a black robe and a moss green kimono.

The old man walked with a cane and seemed aware of Shion's presence, showing a wide smile when the boy decided not to hide. "Why, it looks like I have a visitor. Tell me, did my worms give you trouble?"

"Not really. It was just annoying because there were so many of them, so I ran away from them. By the way, why the hell do you use worms?! What do you have in that coconut head of yours that you think this is a good idea?!"

"Hmph, I don't expect a child like you to understand my ambitions. However, do you think you are in a position to say that you are different from me?" This made Shion's eyebrows twitch nervously, looking seriously at the old man.

Was he insinuating that he was some worm or using a power as grotesque as that?

"Calm down, young Shion. He only wants to provoke you." And he is doing a damn good job at it. He mumbled in his thoughts after hearing Sir Sword's words.

"Well, despite everything, the truth is that I'm not young enough to fight anymore. Then I will let my grandson do it for me." After saying that, a grunt of pain was heard. Shion took a step back when she saw what was now coming out of the mansion. It looked like a pile of flesh that formed a centipede. But with a human head that had blue hair looking like seaweed.

Compared to all the fantastic and cute surroundings before, this was a cold shower. "It hurts... it hurts... grandfather..." The freak grunted as if it was in constant pain. And I'm in constant pain just looking at it!

"Stop complaining. See, if you kill that boy, I will turn you back to normal." This appears to have activated the remaining neurons in that thing as it came straight towards Shion, grunting non-stop.

The speed of that monster far surpassed that of the worms. Shion retreated and jumped onto one of the branches, standing on higher ground. But he wasn't so lucky this time. The human-headed centipede came with everything, destroying the tree, and the boy barely had time to dodge it, even more so because he did it in a lazy way.

And, as if the world itself was giving him a wake-up call, one of the centipede's paws managed to reach him, causing a cut on his thigh. "Young Shion, be careful!"

"Arghhhhh!" The boy screamed as soon as he felt the cut, falling to the ground and holding his leg, feeling as if it had been completely cut off. But that wasn't the pain that cut should been causing him.

What happens is that, despite always entering fights head-on, Shion Emiya never had to fight without his shadow, which absorbed most of the damage. And now even that cut, although not superficial, was not deep either, had already caused him a feeling of pain and fear that was gradually paralyzing him.

"Young Shion, pay attention! He will attack again!" And it was Sir Sword's scream that made him realize that he couldn't stay still. However, the fear of seeing that freak running towards him was too real to allow him to act logically.

"Get away from me!" He shouted, swinging his sword repeatedly, which managed to cut off one of the centipede's legs. However, the creature turned around, hitting the boy with its body and throwing him towards a tree, hitting his back, feeling as if a rib had broken.

All the combat training he had with the geezer and Toshiro came to his mind, and, at that moment, it was worth nothing. After all, he could understand the art of fighting very well, but how would he put it into practice if he was afraid of getting hurt? When he thought more about it, even though he had already experienced pain, the shadow always healed him or prevented him from suffering.

The truth is that Shion has always lived in a world just like the one in the first part of this dream. The shadow always protected him. He did it himself, even when the shadow couldn't.

Hiding your emotions. Remaining ignorant of the past and the people around him. Not train in magecraft purely because he didn't want to put in the effort and get frustrated, as well as worrying about how people of the Church would look at him. It was at that moment that Shion realized something:

He had no way of winning.

So, he got up, with the centipede starting to turn to attack him, and when he looked at where the violet-haired boy was, he had already run away.

"Hmph, it seems that the Matou bloodline will never have a worthy successor." The old man grumbled, although Shion could no longer hear him, as he returned to the mansion. "Shinji, follow him and make sure you finish the job."

"Ughhh... it hurts..." The centipede cried as it started to go after the trail of blood left by Shion.

"Tell me, what was that, young Shion?" Sir Sword asked, upset, as the boy had his head down and was against a tree, tearing a piece of his pants to tie to the wound on his leg as best he knew how. "You didn't act like that with the worms. You defeated them easily without even hesitating! Why was it different with this monster?"

"What do you mean, why, idiot?! Didn't you see he hurt me?! And I can't even heal myself!" He tried not to scream, only whispering in a slightly loud tone, afraid that the centipede would come after him and hear him. "This is very different from my other battles!"

"It's because I don't have my shadow anymore! That's the problem! Without it, I am not able to fight properly!"

"Lies! As I said, you did very well against the worms. Without that shadow. And even using me as a sword, which is a weapon you don't appreciate so much. Which breaks my heart."

"What? Why would it break your heart? By the way, what does this have to do with the conversation?" She grumbled, looking down and holding her hand under her wound. "Look, there's no way I can beat that thing in this state. Let's go back to town, and I'll use you to beat those guards. How about that?"

"And you're going to leave the princess behind?! This is pure selfishness, young Shion!"

"Whatever! Better to be selfish and be alive than to die like an idiot who wants to save the whole world!" The two remained silent after that, with Shion continuing with his head down. Not only did he not want to face the knight, but he was also embarrassed by his own words.

But it was easier to blame others and throw their failures in the face than to face your own. The problem here is that Sir Sword was not one who would let the matter drop there.

"And truth. I might be an idiot for having this dream. But we're not talking about me. You want to enter the castle and end up preferring to hurt those who are just doing their job rather than face adversity."

"Doing their job?! If those guards were doing their job, they would have come here and saved the princess themselves! I'm not a hero! I'm just a guy!"

"Even the smallest spark can make a difference. Your age doesn't define whether or not you can make a difference, only your own fears! Tell me, what are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything! I'm not masochistic enough to throw myself into a dangerous situation, especially when I can't defend myself properly!"

"And yet, you didn't think twice about facing that vampire. Or even all those dungeons you told me about." This time, his tone was softer, as well as understanding. "What are you afraid of, Shion?" The boy clenched his teeth and his fists tightly.

"Of everything!" He screamed, but this time it was a cry, his eyes filling with tears, and finally looking at Sir Sword. "Of hurting me! To die for! Of being rejected...! Damn, I'm afraid of everything! And the shadow was the only thing that gave me security! And now even she has left me!"

This time, silence reigned for longer as the boy sobbed, letting it all out and having Sir Sword's gentle touch on his shoulder to comfort him. It was obvious that he had a lot accumulated, and the knight was looking for the right words to help him in that desperate moment.

"You know, I could say that's just life. That you have to lift your head and keep going, no matter how much you get hit. But something tells me you know that. And it seems like you have everything you need to get through this. However, right now, your biggest enemy is yourself, and it's a fight you need to fight alone."

At the same time, Sir Sword made his arms turn into blades, one white and one black, with Shion noticing the sound of something approaching. Crawling towards them.

"He is coming. He gets out of here. I will give you time to escape."

"What?! Are you suicidal?! If you fight alone, you won't make it! You said it yourself. Your swords aren't as strong when separated! And the thing is ten or fifteen times bigger than you!"

"And yet, I am willing to fight."

"But why?!" It was just so stupid, especially when they could just run away, but the boy wasn't ready for the answer.

"To protect you." It hit Shion harder than any blow he could have taken from the centipede. Even the pain in his leg stopped. Now, there was a sharp pain in his heart as he watched the knight walk away.

And Shion wanted to follow him. He wanted to help him. But as soon as he stood up, he felt his legs weaken, and he immediately fell to the ground. Unable to fight. Unable to escape. In the end, he was unable to do anything. Sir Sword was right.

For him to defeat that monster... no, for him to continue his path until he met the shadow, he needed to face these fears head on.

A/N: And that's about it! Next will be the last chapter of this sub-arc, and then we'll have a interlude to separate this long beginning from the rest of the story.