Saber's knees buckled as her body began to dissolve, fragments of her essence drifting like petals in the wind, a shimmering cascade of magical energy. Her face softened into a small smile, a quiet contentment overtaking her features. She had done her duty, fulfilled her role. Though she had not achieved her ultimate wish in this war, she would wait patiently for the next, confident that her path was not over.

Her last moments were peaceful, the remnants of her body fading away as she accepted the end. The King of Knights disappeared with grace, her legacy secured in her own heart, even if the war's outcome was not as she had hoped.

Berserker, however, was a stark contrast to the quiet dignity of Saber's final moments. He stood, or rather, remained upright by sheer will, watching with dull, apathetic eyes as the beam of light surged toward him and the Holy Grail. He could feel the drain on his own existence, his energy almost entirely depleted. He had won, technically speaking—he and his Master were the last ones standing. Yet victory felt hollow, and he no longer had the strength to even raise his weapon.

This should let me die with dignity, he thought, his mind an empty echo. He welcomed the end, and in this moment, Berserker found a strange calm in the inevitability of his own demise.

But that peace was shattered by the panicked scream of his Master.

"Berserker!"

Kariya Matou's voice rang out in sheer desperation, his breath labored, and his body trembling. He had made a terrible realization—the beam of light was heading straight for the Holy Grail, the very object that held his last shred of hope. If the Grail was destroyed, everything would be lost. Zouken would never release Sakura, and the twisted nightmare that had become his life would continue. He could not let that happen.

"Berserker!" Kariya's voice cracked with the weight of his fear. "By the power of this command seal, protect the Holy Grail with your life!"

The last of Kariya's command seals flared to life, pulsing with a brilliant, burning energy. Berserker felt it surge through him, a foreign strength coursing back into his broken body, reanimating him against his will.

"No," Kariya gasped, staggering as the command seal sapped the last of his vitality. His body convulsed as his remaining life force was sucked out of him to fuel Berserker's action. Kariya screamed in agony, his vision blurring as the unbearable pain wracked his frail body.

Berserker's eyes, glowing with the energy of the command seal, snapped toward the approaching beam. He could feel Kariya's desperate plea driving him forward, even as the last vestiges of his own consciousness warred against the forced compulsion. His arm, which moments before had hung limply at his side, now rose, powered by the dying breath of his Master.

"Rho Aias!" Berserker roared, invoking the legendary shield of the Trojan War hero, Aias. A barrier of seven petals, each imbued with the strength of a mythical defense, manifested before him, glowing faintly as the shield interposed itself between the beam of Excalibur and the Holy Grail.

The impact was immediate. The brilliant light of Excalibur slammed into Rho Aias, each petal shattering one by one as the sheer force of Saber's Noble Phantasm tore through the defense. Berserker held his ground, his body trembling under the strain, but he was immovable—driven by Kariya's command, by the last remnants of the Matou heir's fading life.

The first impact was deafening.

Crash!

The beam collided with the first petal, disintegrating it as if it had never existed. Berserker felt the strain in every fiber of his being.

Crash! Crash!

The second and third petals shattered almost instantly, offering no resistance against the holy light. The force of Saber's Noble Phantasm was too great, too overwhelming.

Crash!

The fourth petal held for a heartbeat longer, a flicker of hope, before it too vanished in an instant.

Crash! Crash!

The fifth and sixth petals met the same fate, breaking like fragile glass against the might of Excalibur. Each shattering blow reverberated through Berserker's body, as if his very soul was being torn apart piece by piece.

But the seventh petal—It lingered.

For a moment, the flower-shaped barrier held its ground, a last stand against the unrelenting force of Saber's Noble Phantasm. The light of Excalibur met the glow of the petal in a perfect clash of power, and for the briefest of moments, it seemed as though the shield might withstand the holy light.

But that hope was fleeting.

With a final, thunderous crash, the seventh petal broke apart, and the beam of light engulfed Berserker entirely.

His form, already weakened, was consumed in the brilliance. The energy of Excalibur tore through him, leaving nothing behind but dust and silence. In that moment, as the light consumed him, Berserker's mind grew strangely clear. His thoughts, once clouded by madness and rage, focused on one single image—Saber.

The name lingered in his mind as his existence unraveled.

And with that, he vanished, his body crumbling to ash in the radiant light of Excalibur.


Kariya, watching from the sidelines, gasped for breath as his body collapsed under the strain of using his last command seal. He lay there, his vision dimming, his muscles trembling, the life draining from him as quickly as it had been pulled into Berserker's final act.

His breathing grew ragged, shallow, as he slumped against the cold stone floor of the temple. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat weaker than the last. The room around him blurred into a haze, his senses dulled by the agony that coursed through him.

The Holy Grail had survived—untouched, seemingly unscathed—and Kariya, in his delusion, believed he had succeeded. A twisted, delirious smile stretched across his face as his vision darkened.

"I won," he whispered to himself, though his words were hollow, a final lie he told himself to escape the crushing reality. His thoughts drifted to Sakura, to the girl he had sacrificed everything for, believing that by saving the Grail, he had somehow saved her.

But the truth was far more tragic. As Kariya's last breath left his lips, his body crumpled, lifeless, beside the temple room. There would be no victory, no salvation. Only the cold, unforgiving silence of death.

And thus, the Matou heir's final chapter came to a close, his life extinguished in the same way as Berserker's, consumed by a battle they were never meant to win.


But the aftermath of the battle did not end with the destruction of Berserker and Kariya's last breath. The holy light of Excalibur, in its final strike, tore through the Holy Grail itself.

The Grail, corrupted and malevolent, ruptured under the force of Saber's final act, its twisted essence unable to withstand the pure light. The unholy relic shattered, its dark magic unraveling in an instant. But the collapse of such immense power was not a quiet thing—it was catastrophic.

The beam of light from Excalibur, now mixed with the chaotic remnants of the Grail's energy, spiraled outward like a divine drill, burrowing through the cavern walls. Stone and earth gave way under the unstoppable force, as the light punched its way upward.

On the surface...

The once tranquil lake behind Ryuudou Temple, now resting directly above the cavern, began to bubble violently. The water churned, its temperature rising rapidly as the ground beneath it grew unstable. Within moments, the lake, no longer able to contain the upheaval beneath, erupted.

Boom!

A deafening explosion tore through the night, the force of the blast sending water, steam, rock, and debris shooting into the sky. The surface of the lake, once still and reflective, transformed into a violent storm of light and destruction. Columns of water shot into the air, as chunks of earth broke apart and were thrown in all directions.

The explosion was so intense that it shook the very foundations of the mountain itself. Mount Enzou, beneath which the citizens of Fuyuki slept peacefully in their homes, trembled as though struck by an earthquake. The people, startled awake, rushed from their homes in confusion, fear gripping their hearts as the night sky was illuminated by the violent light show above them.

A bright, unnatural glow filled the air, casting eerie shadows across the city. From the streets of Fuyuki, the once peaceful mountain looked like a volcano had erupted, as light, heat, and dust engulfed the sky.

The explosion sent shockwaves that rolled through the city, rattling windows and shaking buildings. The distant, reverberating sound of the explosion echoed across the landscape, waking everyone in its path.

As if the chaos of the explosion wasn't enough, the force of it began to spread further through the mountain. The shockwaves, which had already disturbed the lake and surrounding area, continued their devastating path through the cavern beneath Ryuudou Temple. The cracks that had formed in the earth from the sheer power of the blast began to spread like a web of destruction.

The ancient stone walls of the cavern groaned under the pressure, deep fissures opening up as the ground shook violently. Massive rocks tumbled from the ceiling, crashing down into the depths below. The once-sturdy cavern, now unable to support itself, started to give way entirely. Cracks raced toward the surface, snaking their way up to the Ryuudou Temple itself.

Above ground...

The foundation of the temple began to tremble. The ancient building, which had stood watch over Fuyuki for centuries, was now buckling under the strain. The cracks reached the base of the temple, tearing through the walls and pillars. With a great, echoing 'snap', the supports gave way, and the temple began to collapse.

It all happened in mere moments. The cracks swallowed the temple whole, the ground beneath it caving in as the entire structure crumbled and fell into the cavern below. Stones, tiles, and wooden beams crashed down, shattering as they plummeted into the darkness. The once sacred temple disappeared into the void, lost to the destruction that now consumed the mountain.

Below...

Kariya, who had drawn his last breath in that very temple room, was not spared. His lifeless body, lying amidst the ruins of his struggle, was swept away as the floor collapsed. He, along with the shattered remains of the temple, tumbled into the abyss of the cavern. His body disappeared into the depths, joining the wreckage that had fallen before him, a final end to his tragic fate.

The whole cavern quaked, rocks tumbling into the dark, the earth groaning as it continued to collapse inward. The once hidden battlefield beneath Mount Enzou was being buried under its own weight, the destruction erasing any trace of the terrible war that had been waged there.

As the dust and debris settled, an eerie silence filled the air, broken only by the occasional sound of falling rock. The Holy Grail, the temple, and the lives that had been lost were now swallowed by the earth itself, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake.


Kiritsugu ran, his breath ragged, heart pounding in his chest as the cavern walls trembled violently around him. Every step seemed to bring more of the ceiling down, cracks snaking along the walls and floor as the earth shifted and groaned. His mind raced as fast as his legs, desperate to escape the collapsing underground.

Boom!

Another tremor rocked the cave, sending chunks of debris raining down. Kiritsugu threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding a boulder the size of a wagon that smashed into the ground where he had just been. Dust filled the air, thick and choking, making it harder to see the path ahead. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. Not now, not when the end was so close.

His body screamed with exhaustion, but he pushed himself onward. The entrance wasn't far. He could see a faint sliver of moonlight peeking through the crumbling archway in the distance. He just needed to reach it. Just a little further.

But fate had other plans.

Without warning, the ground beneath Kiritsugu's feet gave way. The cracks that had spread like spiderwebs finally reached a tipping point, and with a sickening crunch, the floor collapsed into the cavern below. Kiritsugu barely had time to react before he was falling.

"Ahhh!" He let out a startled cry, arms flailing in an attempt to grab onto something—anything—that could stop his fall. But there was nothing. He plummeted through the darkness, crashing against jagged rocks as he tumbled down into the depths of the cave.

He hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the wind out of him. Pain shot through his body, sharp and intense. He gasped for air, struggling to push himself up, but something was wrong. His legs... they wouldn't move.

Kiritsugu blinked through the haze of dust and pain, looking down at his lower body. His legs were pinned beneath a massive boulder, crushed beneath the weight of the rockfall. Blood trickled from cuts and gashes on his arms, his clothes torn and covered in dirt.

For a moment, all he could do was stare, his mind unable to process what had happened. He was so close—so close to getting out—and now he was trapped.

His breath came in shallow, labored gasps as he realized the full weight of his situation. The cavern was still collapsing. Even if he somehow managed to free himself, the exit was too far away, and the ground above was unstable. There was no way out.

With trembling hands, Kiritsugu reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette. His fingers were slick with blood, but he managed to light it with a shaky flick of his lighter. The familiar smell of tobacco filled his lungs as he took a long drag, the smoke swirling in the dim light.

His mind drifted as the cavern rumbled around him, and he couldn't help but think of everything that had led to this moment. The choices he'd made, the lives he'd taken, the dream he had pursued so relentlessly—only to watch it all fall apart.

He exhaled slowly, the smoke mingling with the dust in the air. The cigarette's soft glow was a small comfort in the encroaching darkness.

And then the ceiling cracked.

Kiritsugu looked up, watching with a strange sense of detachment as the rocks above began to shift. The final collapse was coming. He could feel it in the way the air seemed to grow heavier, in the deep groans of the earth as it prepared to bury him.

He closed his eyes and let out a slow, resigned breath.

"Perhaps this is karma..." he muttered to himself, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

The last thing he thought of before the rocks came crashing down was Ilya, her innocent face smiling up at him.

'Sorry, Ilya. Daddy can't go back...'

And then the world went dark as the cave collapsed in on itself, taking Kiritsugu with it.


The celestial event above the ruined Ryuudou Temple marked the true end of the Fourth Holy Grail War, though the horror it unleashed would be felt long after.

High above, the black sun — a manifestation of the tainted Holy Grail — began to collapse, a cosmic abyss radiating the destructive force of the cursed Angra Mainyu, the embodiment of all the evils of the world. What Kiritsugu had seen as a gateway to destruction was far more dangerous than even he had imagined. Unseen by him as he lay buried beneath the collapsing cavern, the catastrophic force now began to spill forth, staining the skies with its malevolent power.

The black ooze, the cursed mud, poured from the sky like a torrential downpour. It fell with the weight of doom, flooding the remains of the cavern, where the grail had once rested. What had been hidden beneath Mount Enzō for decades, absorbing energy, now burst forth in violent eruption, consuming the earth like a ravenous beast.

It was a curse meant to burn away all life—Angra Mainyu unleashed upon the world.

The black mud surged down the mountain, boiling away everything in its path. Trees, wildlife, and rock alike were devoured by the supernatural flames. The forest that surrounded the mountain was soon set ablaze, a sea of flames that stretched as far as the eye could see, fueled by the cursed prana. Any living creature, whether insect, beast, or man, unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of the black river was scorched beyond recognition.

Everything turned to ashes.

In the distance, watching the unfolding calamity from the church grounds, stood Tokiomi Tohsaka, unmoved by the disaster. His sharp eyes reflected the flames dancing over the forest and the black tide consuming everything in its path. There was no remorse, no sadness. Only a quiet acknowledgment of the fate now unleashed upon the land.

"Those damn fools," Tokiomi muttered under his breath, his voice barely a whisper. He did not elaborate, but the weight of his words hinted at something else.

By the time the cursed mud reached the foothills of the mountain, most of the surrounding forest had been reduced to nothing more than embers, and the iconic Ryuudou Temple had crumbled into the ash-filled abyss. The black sun above had finally disappeared, its energy spent, but the devastation it left behind was undeniable.

The next day, police and firefighters surveyed the damage. Fortunately, aside from minor injuries sustained during the rescue efforts, there were few casualties. Among those counted was one official death — a body found crushed beneath the ruins of the temple.

And while Kiritsugu Emiya's name would never be known or his body found, but his death was a stark reminder of the cost of the war no one would ever understand.

The citizens of Fuyuki were left bewildered and shaken by the great calamity. Rumors spread, fear gripped the hearts of those who witnessed the destruction from a distance, but time, as it always does, began to heal. The ashes cooled, the wreckage was eventually cleared, and life returned to the city.

However, there was one who would never forget. Among the watching citizan was a young boy with auburn hair and golden-brown eyes, who clung tightly to his mother's hand as they watched the flames from a distance. The image of that inferno, the devastation it wrought, would be seared into his memory forever.

And so, the Fourth Holy Grail War ended. No victor. No prize.

Just silence in the wake of destruction.


In the dimly lit chambers of the Matou residence, Zouken Matou sat, his ancient and withered form gazing out through a crack in the window. From his vantage point, he could observe his granddaughter, Sakura, training with his worm, but his mind wasn't on her today.

Zouken's thoughts were tangled, preoccupied with the baffling result of the Fourth Holy Grail War.

The Matou family had both won and lost, a paradox that gnawed at him. While at the end Berserker left perish he is still the last surviving servant on the war, so technically the Matou is the voctor of the Holy Grail war yet somehow they did not managed to keep the prize. Kariya had nearly succeeded in delivering the Grail into their grasp, but everything had crumbled at the final moment.

How had it come to this?

He can't even blame Kariya because outside of his death, he technically fulfilled his end of the deal, goddammit.

Flabbergasted was not a word Zouken would normally attribute to himself, yet here he was, utterly perplexed. For a man who had orchestrated and manipulated countless events over centuries, the turn of this war's tide was something he had not foreseen.

After hours of deliberation, Zouken finally honed in on the source of his family's defeat: the Einzberns. Somehow, they had discovered the location of the hidden Greater Grail beneath Mount Enzō.

"Byakuya," Zouken's voice rang out, as cold and sharp as a blade in the dead of night. His tone was calm, devoid of the anger his words implied. "How did the Einzbern know of the Grail's hiding place?"

More so how did they did it without him knowing.

Byakuya Matou, standing rigid before his father, felt his blood turn cold. Terror gripped him as Zouken's question hung in the air. He tried to speak, but his voice failed him.

"I... I..." Byakuya stammered, barely able to form words, his face pale with fear. Whatever he said now wouldn't matter; there was no excuse that would satisfy the ancient patriarch.

Zouken clicked his tongue, the sound echoing through the oppressive silence of the room. Well, its not important anymore.

"Call the Tohsaka." Zouken's command was sharp, final. "I want to make a deal with them."

Byakuya knew that this was his only chance to escape the room with his life intact. Without a second thought, he turned and rushed out, eager to obey his father's orders. But as he left, he knew that punishment would come later. It was inevitable.

Once his son had left the room, Zouken sighed—a rare and quiet expression of his growing frustration.

"Another century wasted. Again." He muttered to himself, his voice tinged with resignation. For all his scheming and all his attempts at immortality, Zouken found himself caught in an endless cycle of failed plans and fleeting hopes. Another century of planning, another war, and still, the prize slipped through his fingers.

His eyes drifted back to Sakura. Perhaps she would be the key to finally breaking this cycle. Perhaps not. Either way, Zouken would wait. He always did.

After all, he had all the time in the world.


A.N

the next chapter is the prologue which will finally close this fic.