Morning sunlight poured through the window and fell on the kitchen's wooden floor. The room was filled with the scent of fried eggs and toasted bread.
At the stove, Emiya was skillfully flipping a frying pan. The surface of the egg browned lightly, the yolk half-set, holding a perfect state, glinting temptingly under the sheen of oil.
The bread in the oven had just finished baking, giving off a rich smell of wheat and dairy. Golden, soft toast sat in the oven to keep warm, waiting for final plating.
An elegant woman stepped in gently, "Shirou, Illya still hasn't gotten up?"
Irisviel von Einzbern, mistress of the Emiya household, and Illyasviel's mother.
This gorgeous, graceful lady was wearing a white silk house dress now, her snow-colored long hair flowing like a river.
During summer break she had returned to Fuyuki and temporarily reunited with the family.
Now the summer break was over; today was the first day of classes for the elementary division of Homurahara Academy.
As for Shirou's high school division, it had already started long ago.
Shirou glanced slightly, looked at the kitchen clock, then plated the fried egg from the iron pan onto a white porcelain dish, "Okay, I'll go wake her."
He took off his apron, washed his hands, and walked up to the second floor.
Shirou stood at the bedroom door and knocked lightly a few times.
"Illya."
As expected, there was no answer.
The room was quiet; only faint breathing could be heard.
Shirou gently pushed the door and went in.
The curtains were tightly drawn, cutting the room off completely from the morning light outside; the interior remained dim.
On the bed, Illyasviel was buried under the covers, deep in sleep. On the floor beside her lay an alarm clock that had sounded once and been shut off again.
Shirou walked to the window and pulled the curtains wide, letting the morning sun flood the room without reserve.
"Wake up, Illya."
The sudden brightness made the girl's eyelashes flutter; she slowly opened her eyes.
She sat up, blinking sleep from her eyes, looking around in a daze.
"Mmm?", Her head clearly hadn't fully left sleep yet.
"Finally awake. Hurry up and get ready," Shirou watched her and said, "You can't stay in holiday mode forever, you know."
"Oh... right...", Illya rubbed her eyes and murmured softly.
The next moment, as her mind fully cleared, her expression twisted instantly, "From today, the new term starts!"
———
Sella crossed her arms and watched Illya rush downstairs like a whirlwind, sighing helplessly.
"I told you so many times to go to bed earlier..."
She scolded softly while pushing a plate of sandwiches toward Illya.
"Shirou made egg sandwiches for breakfast. At least eat one before you go."
Illya hurriedly grabbed the sandwich and took a quick bite, chewing and calling vaguely, "Thanks, Sella!"
A little smear of ketchup clung to the corner of her mouth, but Illya didn't notice at all; she turned and dashed for the door.
"Hey, wait! Don't run while eating like that!"
Sella shouted, trying to stop her, but it was too late; Illya had already burst out the entrance and ran like the wind.
"Really... when she comes back, I'll have to give her a proper scolding," Sella sighed.
"Oh my, Sella is as strict as ever," Irisviel smiled from the side.
At the door, Shirou was just pushing his bicycle out of the garage when he saw Illya barreling out of the entryway.
"Be quick, Illya," Shirou said, "You don't want to be late for the opening ceremony on your first day, do you?"
Illya skidded to a stop, then her eyes brightened as she thought of a trick. She coquettishly sidled up to Shirou, grabbed his sleeve, and gave it a little shake.
"Since that's the case, give me a ride!"
"No riding double on the bicycle—", Shirou hesitated, then said, "But fine, hop on."
"Eh? Really?"
Shirou smiled lightly, "As long as we don't get caught, it's fine."
"Nii-chan, be careful not to get caught by Sella when you say things like that."
Illya hopped onto the rear seat of the bicycle and gently wrapped her arms around Shirou's waist.
It was the first day back. Taking a little lazy shortcut was forgivable.
The morning breeze blew softly, not as harsh as midday heat, carrying a hint of fresh coolness. The bicycle's tires rolled over the cobbled path with a rhythmic "click-clack," echoing through the quiet alley.
Tall ginkgo trees lined the road, their crowns interwoven, leaves layered; morning light filtered through gaps, casting mottled shadows that swayed gently with the breeze.
"Summer's over already," Illya sighed softly.
The bicycle ran smoothly along the tranquil tree-lined path; the girl's arms hugged Shirou's waist, her cheek pressed lightly against his back.
She watched the scenery by the roadside and couldn't help but comment.
"Happy times always seem to go by so fast," Shirou said.
Illya swung her legs gently and leaned quietly on Shirou's back. After a moment she spoke in a soft voice—
"Nii-chan."
"What is it?"
Illya's voice was lighter than the wind, "Thank you."
Shirou smiled, "Why say that all of a sudden?"
Just then the path opened up and the familiar school gate came into view beyond the alley.
"We're here."
Homurahara Academy's elementary and high school divisions were built next to each other, but their entrances were in different places.
Shirou slowed the bicycle, Illya jumped off, and smoothed her skirt.
"All right, I'm off to school, Nii-chan!"
"Okay, pay attention in class."
———
[Homurahara Academy Elementary Division, Class 5-1]
"Safe! Made it on time, I am not late!", The class bell hadn't rung yet, and Illya had arrived just in time.
But no sooner had she stepped into the classroom than two figures suddenly lunged from both sides, grabbing her arms, left and right.
"Ilya!"
"Wah?", Illya was startled.
On her left stood Kurihara Suzuka, hair in braids, bespectacled literature girl, self-proclaimed Suzaku, one of Homurahara Elementary's "Four Deities."
"Oh my, isn't this Illya? Long time no see!"
On her right was the pink-haired girl Moriyama Nanami, self-proclaimed Genbu, the other of the Four Deities.
She was Shirou's classmate Moriyama Nanaki's younger sister; like her sister, she usually squinted and possessed strength beyond her age.
"I-I thought, I thought... I'd never see you again!!"
"Wait, wait!," Illya, trapped between them, shouted, "Why are you getting so excited?"
Kurihara Suzuka: "Of course, we're long-lost friends meeting after five years!"
Illya: "Five years? Didn't we only part for a month?"
At that moment another gentle voice chimed in.
"Because longing stretches one's sense of time," Katsura Mimi said.
Meanwhile another voice spoke slowly.
"'As if not seeing, yet like three autumns', so say the ancients."
Illya: "Wait, who are you?"
The girl beside her wore a familiar face, Tatsuko Gakumazawa, self-proclaimed Seiryu, one of the Four Deities.
"This isn't right!", Illya shouted.
Ryoko had always been a classic ditzy girl in Illya's view, why was she suddenly reciting classical lines?
Moriyama Nanami, hearing Illya's question, nodded seriously and explained, "This summer, she suddenly matured."
Tatsuko Gakumazawa chuckled, "'Three days' absence, and one appears much changed', don't underestimate my growth~"
Kurihara Suzuka, Moriyama Nanami, Tatsuko Gakumazawa, Katsura Mimi... these girls were Illya's best friends.
They laughed and chatted; meanwhile Illya's gaze drifted unconsciously to an empty seat in the classroom.
She stared at that seat blankly, her expression growing a bit distant.
"What's wrong, Illya?"
Kurihara Suzuka noticed the change and tilted her head, asking.
Moriyama Nanami followed Illya's gaze and said, "That seat... it's always been empty, hasn't it?"
Illya nodded, "Yeah, it really has."
She paused and continued, "I was thinking whether this term our class might get a transfer student."
"Probably not. There never have been any before."
"...That's true," Illya smiled softly.
Ding~
The clear bell sounded in the classroom; the door was pushed open with force and a familiar voice called.
"Good morning, class."
Their homeroom teacher, Tiger of the Four Deities, Fujimura Taiga, entered Class 5-1.
The new term officially began.
———
Nothing special happened on the first day.
During lessons Illya tried to concentrate and listen, but she still daydreamed sometimes.
While the teacher explained math problems at the blackboard, her thoughts drifted out the window, following the clouds crossing the sky.
It wasn't until the teacher rapped the desk with a textbook that she snapped back, trying to look like she'd been paying attention.
After class, she clustered with her friends to chat about the summer's events.
At lunch, Illya opened the bento her Nii-chan had prepared; the box held colorful, appetizing dishes, and the girl happily ate everything.
Afternoon classes passed unremarkably; before she knew it, it was three o'clock and time to go home.
Unlike students who participated in clubs, Illya belonged to the "going-home club", no activities. So she packed her bag as usual and prepared to leave.
An ordinary, natural life.
Students without clubs walked home in groups of three or five; Illya's friends intended to walk together too.
"Illya, want to walk home together?"
Illya shook her head gently, "You go ahead. I have something to do."
"All right then, see you tomorrow!"
"Yeah, see you."
Illya smiled and waved goodbye.
Soon classmates left in small groups; the classroom lost the daytime bustle, sunlight still warm outside, but with no passing students the space felt especially quiet.
Illya sat at her desk, quietly staring at the teacher's podium, her eyes drifting over the carved marks on her desk and the view outside the window.
After a while she pushed back her chair, left the classroom, and walked toward the rooftop of the main school building.
The rooftop door creaked softly as it opened.
A warm breeze greeted her, stirring her silver hair and lifting her skirt.
The light was bright; from here she could overlook the whole of Fukuyama Town.
The town wasn't particularly bustling, but it had a unique tranquility. Stone-tiled roofs arranged neatly, tree-lined streets still lush, students returning home here and there, passersby lingering in front of shops.
Just as it always had been, no different from before.
Suddenly a familiar voice sounded at her ear.
"What a beautiful town."
Illya turned; Shirou was now standing beside her, watching the scenery with her.
"Nii-chan!"
"Yo," Shirou's tone was relaxed and natural; he smiled, looking at her with gentle eyes.
Illya's expression tightened a bit; a playful smile curled on her lips as she tilted her head, appraising him.
"Eh~ Nii-chan, what are you doing at an all-girls elementary school? Everything okay? Not wanted by the law or anything?"
Shirou gave a helpless smile, "Well, it's good to be cautious... but being treated like a suspicious person feels a bit rough."
Then he tilted his head back toward the distance and said softly, "Rather than that, Illya, how do you feel? About this peaceful, beautiful place, no magic, no cards, an ordinary, everyday world."
Illya looked at the side of Shirou's face quietly.
This town had no magic, no wars, no conflicts, only steady daily life.
Going to school, chatting with friends, eating the bento her Nii-chan made, going home after classes, immersed in an uneventful routine.
"It's a particularly beautiful dream," She smiled.
The moment she finished speaking, the scenery around them changed dramatically.
What had been a sunny afternoon suddenly plunged into darkness; a sky full of stars shone in an endless night.
The people on the streets vanished soundlessly, as if they had never existed.
"Thank you, Nii-chan," Her voice was soft, "These days, I've really been so happy."
Shirou watched her in silence, not interrupting.
After a moment he reached out and gently ruffled Illya's hair, "If you want, it doesn't have to be only a dream."
His low words seemed to carry a kind of magic.
"As long as Illya wishes it."
A world without fighting. An ordinary, taken-for-granted daily life. No magic, no sacrifice, no pain. If she wished it, he could make all that real.
"I can stay here with you until the end."
At most, a lifetime of under a hundred years. In this world they could live as ordinary siblings and never have regrets.
Illya opened her eyes and looked at Shirou.
Her heartbeat was slow and light, as if sinking into the deep sea of time.
She clenched her fist tightly; her gaze was more resolute than ever.
"Nii-chan, I don't want to run away."
"I want to face the future head-on."
Shirou looked at her quietly; his red eyes reflected the girl's figure.
He was not surprised, nor did he try to dissuade. He seemed to have expected her choice.
Then he smiled softly.
"Then go for it."
His voice was gentle, "Don't worry about anything. Don't be afraid of anything."
A clear roar sounded beneath the starry sky; Illya turned and saw magnificent light rising in the ocean of endless stars.
Seven enormous wheels of light overlapped layer upon layer, like the gears of fate, slowly turning in the void.
"I will always be by your side."
———
[Inscription of Stars]
A girl stood quietly, her silver hair stirred by an unseen breeze, deep red pupils reflecting this space beyond reason.
Before her stood a doll-like girl being the incarnation of Gaia's restraint, the planet's guardian, Tanaka.
"Illya, are you sure?", She said, "Once you step into the Age of Gods, you can never come back."
"Magic and mana and stuff, Tanaka doesn't really get it. But if you go back before the Common Era, you can't return to your original time. You'll become like a jellyfish drifting forever in the sea of time..."
"Even so, will you go?"
Illya lifted her head slowly; her eyes were unusually firm, "Yes."
"Tanaka believes in you. If Illya says she can do it, she can rewrite the world's doomed ending, defeat the enemy, reunite everyone, and achieve a happy ending," She whispered:
"But among 'them', there is no Illya, would that still be okay?"
Illya only stared calmly into the Inscription of Stars.
"No."
"Nii-chan, he will go with me."
———
[Fuyuki City · Einzbern Castle]
"Displacement magic, huh. Interesting," A young man in ornate robes with white hair and dark skin stood in the corridor, looking at the dark hall ahead; his eyes were like clear mirrors, reflecting the flow of magical operations.
"But not much."
Ten rings trembled lightly, flashing with dazzling silver light.
Crack!
A sound like glass shattering echoed.
The man reached out his right hand and forcibly pulled a blurred, twisted figure out of the darkness.
Darius Ainsworth, an ancient magus who had existed since a thousand years ago, ancestor of the Ainsworth family. He was a concept of a magus spirit who had survived a millennium.
The Ainsworth family's magic used a degraded exchange base practice few in the world used, but the Ainsworths specialized in it. Their displacement magic exceeded common magical understanding in scale, precision, and range.
Darius could, with displacement magic, make his body a mere vessel, preserving spirit by sacrificing successive generations of descendants for near-eternal continuation.
The Ainsworth bloodline was his repeated stripping of himself, a sacrificial cycle for reincarnation.
No matter how the heirs resisted, one day they would be displaced and become "Darius Ainsworth."
Darius's displacement magic had approached the concept of true magic; he could freely swap appearances, voices, and forms so that enemies could not touch his true existence.
Yet, no matter how close he came, it still wasn't true magic.
And as long as it was still magecraft, he could not escape that one's sight.
The King of Magic, Solomon.
No matter how Darius twisted his displacement, writhing through spaces, he could not avoid the "Eye" of King Solomon.
BOOM!
Air split under a stabbing punch. Solomon's fist fell like divine punishment thunder, carrying terrifying force, straight into Darius's jaw.
Darius's head snapped back; he was smashed away like a ragged sack.
Solomon stepped forward without hesitation; before Darius could react, another punch struck his abdomen.
Force erupted like a shock wave with each blow. Darius' body folded as if paper, bent double from the impact.
Solomon concentrated all his strength into his right fist; his legs pushed like a hunting leopard, and he struck Darius's face with a fierce blow.
Then followed a brutal flurry of strikes, pounding Darius's body in rapid succession.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Each punch was as fast as a meteor and heavy as thunder, tearing the air into sonic booms; the dull cracks of bones and the roar of dissipating mana mingled like the tolling of an apocalypse bell.
Solomon's ancestor Jacob had once boxed with God and even defeated an angel; he passed down a martial art called Divine Persona Fist.
As the King of Magic, Solomon not only inherited this skill but perfected it.
Now the rings on his fingers shone brilliantly; the Ten Commandments, meant to drive magecraft, had become the most vicious knuckle-dusters in his hands.
Compared to refined punching technique, as a candidate for Grand Caster, Solomon often fussed so much that he mispronounced chants in complex rituals and failed spells.
BAANG!!
Air split as the final heavy punch slammed into Darius's chest.
Solomon clenched his five fingers; with the Ten Commandments as knuckledusters, his continuous punches shattered all of Darius's magical circuits.
Darius shuddered violently; blood-red circuits flashed wildly, and in the next instant were utterly torn apart.
"How is this possible... I, I—"
Darius looked at his crumbling hands in disbelief.
His mana began to spiral out of control; his body twisted as the ruptured circuits spewed black bramble-like thorns, tearing at his body.
The black thorns twisted frantically like an all-consuming abyss and completely swallowed Darius's figure.
In that dark vortex, a young figure was finally expelled, as if flung out of a thorn-choked cage, crashing heavily to the ground.
Julian Ainsworth, the contemporary head of the Ainsworths whose soul had been replaced by Darius, was finally freed from that endless cycle.
———
"Wow, so that's the strength of a Grand Caster candidate? Kind of... odd, though," Child Gilgamesh, watching from the airship, commented.
It wasn't that it wasn't strong, but resolving a foe with fists rather than magecraft felt somewhat off.
"Still, I'm also a Grand Caster candidate, yet I don't chant magecraft either."
The measure for Grand Caster was the highest-grade Clairvoyance. With that criterion met, even someone who couldn't chant spells could be a Grand Caster candidate.
In theory, Shirou, who only used projection magecraft, could also qualify as a candidate.
Some Age-of-Gods magi, like Medea or Morgan, despite being top sorcerers, lacked adaptability to Grand-Class arts.
Looking at Darius's ruin, Miyu Emiya's expression was a little stunned, "Is... it over just like that?"
Ainsworth, the existence that had once driven Miyu to despair, was powerless in front of Caster Solomon.
"Not yet," Achilles, standing guard next to the girl, said, "Boss has a second phase."
"But, honestly, that second phase giant king probably won't be that hard, right?", Achilles thought.
Their configured firepower here was just absurdly excessive.
One could only say that person had spoiled his sister too much, not wanting her to suffer even a little.
Achilles looked up at the "hole" vomiting black sludge in the sky.
Before Miyu and the others arrived this "hole" had already been opened. Now the entire Einzbern castle surroundings were completely covered by black sludge.
The inky liquid churned like a writhing sea of filth; gigantic black giants were born from it.
Massive and headless, neither Norse frost giants nor Greek Titans, not matching any myth of this planet, these were giants founded on unknown myths.
These giants were an erosion from another world.
Among them the most majestic rose slowly to its feet.
Its body far exceeded the others, towering into the clouds; black sludge churned across it.
Darius Ainsworth's mana and soul had seeped into it and merged.
The Giant King, manifest.
Achilles hefted his spear on one shoulder and scanned the headless giants spawned from the muck and the central giant that seemed about to tear the sky.
He exclaimed, "Ugly as sin."
On the other side, Ruler Morgan (Alfia) looked colder and flatter, "The 'hole' is fully open. We can send him to die."
A low voice came from behind Miyu Emiya.
"The evening bell has already tolled."
Slaying Darius Ainsworth had never been difficult for heroic spirits like Solomon or Old Man of the Mountain.
The real problem was how to save a world whose Great Source had already been exhausted and was approaching its end.
Even these powerful heroic spirits had no solution.
This land had lost the root to continue humanity; even with Grand-level might they could not conjure a Great Source from nothing.
Even if they defeated Ainsworth, the world would still inevitably meet its end in the near future.
Facing this immutable fate, Darius Ainsworth's choice was Pandora's Box. Through a world-hole inside, reach a world not yet ruined.
Abandon all humans except himself, go to the other side of the world. If this world perished, the human history born here would become seeds Darius would carry into the new world to continue.
That was Darius Ainsworth's "Human Salvation" plan.
Solomon called it self-deception; Gilgamesh's comment was, "Only that arrogance rivals the divine."
The sea of black sludge still churned; the headless giants charged the party, roaring.
"Bastards, don't get in the way."
Gates of Noble Phantasms opened in the air like golden constellations in the sky; in an instant countless peerless weapons poured down like a storm, shredding the black giants into pieces.
Another figure walked through the darkness.
A black-clad swordsman passed amid the churning sludge; a low bell chimed.
Evening Bell, Rank: EX!
The bell that announces a funeral's arrival, sounded when death comes.
This swordsman did not kill opponents by his own will. When his foes became "lost, destined to die," he granted them salvation in place of God.
As Alfia had said, once the world-hole opened, Darius no longer needed to exist.
"Listen. The Evening Bell calls your name. Feather of Death, sever the head."
Black sword-light sliced the void, lightly skimming the Giant King's form.
Death-Announcing Angel!
For a moment, heaven and earth fell silent.
The sloshing of black sludge halted; the air felt frozen; time lost meaning in that instant.
Thus Darius Ainsworth's curtain fell.
The black sludge's surging slowed; the battlefield sank into brief silence.
Apart from Ruler Morgan, golden motes of light rose from other heroic spirits' bodies.
Their mission, or the Holy Grail War, was over.
"Farewell, Miss," Achilles waved, "Though our time together was short, it was pretty pleasant."
"Maybe we'll meet again~"
Golden motes spread from his feet; his form grew translucent, merging into light.
The Old Man of the Mountain and Solomon only nodded lightly, saying little.
Not far off, Gilgamesh snorted disdainfully and turned his face away, saying no farewells.
Meanwhile, two Servants still blocking remaining giants, Rider Conqueror Iskandar and Berserker Gorgon, also gradually became golden light.
These Servants all returned to the Throne of Heroic Spirits.
Alfia slowly raised her head and stared at the "world-hole" floating in the sky.
The black sludge no longer churned, but the rift had not closed.
Miyu Emiya looked skyward; her pupils trembled slightly, a blend of indescribable tension and anticipation tightened her chest and she held her breath.
Then she saw—
Two familiar figures slowly fell from that voidal fissure.
"Nii-chan, and—"
Miyu's heart raced.
Countless scenes flashed in her mind, forgotten memories erased by the world returning in an instant.
"Illya!"
Tears streamed from her eyes; the girl lunged forward, stumbling as she ran toward them.
Her steps were chaotic; her consciousness blurred with tears; only the fierce feeling in her chest drove her onward.
"Illya... Nii-chan..."
Miyu flung herself into them, seeing nothing else but those two familiar figures.
A warm embrace welcomed her.
Shirou opened his arms and hugged Miyu tightly.
"Thank you for everything, Miyu."
At the next moment, Illya wrapped herself around them from the side.
"It's so good to see you again... really..."
———
This world on the brink of ending was saved.
Time rewound six thousand years to the primordial age; the primeval Illya opened Pandora's Box.
At that moment the world's replacement was complete.
Over the six thousand years the world's Great Source had not been exhausted, it had never been activated.
The doomed future had been swapped to the inside, while the intact world naturally became the human historical reality.
So Darius did not die; though he managed by luck to pass through the world-hole, he would not reach the new world he dreamed of, only the already-abandoned, utterly destroyed world.
His pursued "human salvation" was from the start destined to be the most complete joke.
After Illya told Miyu the whole truth, Miyu shook her head involuntarily.
Darius Ainsworth, headed the wrong way, seeking fish in a tree's branches, was truly pitiable, hateful, and tragic.
After a soft sigh, Miyu's attention turned to another question.
"So, Nii-chan, what's the situation between you and Illya now?"
Shirou considered for a moment, seeming to think how to describe his status.
After a bit, he answered slowly, "For me, I'm a newly born god."
Miyu: "..."
She took a deep breath and then turned her gaze to Illya.
Illya scratched her cheek, "I'm currently, for now, a deity of this world, or by Nii-chan's standard, a greater fairy-spirit (quasi-god)? "
Miyu: "..."
'God, fairy-spirit, what even are these terms?'
A lot had happened she didn't know.
"Miyu, do you plan to stay in this world?", Shirou asked softly, changing the subject.
Miyu shook her head, her eyes resolute, "Wherever Nii-chan goes, I'll go."
Although this world would no longer end, for them it was no longer home.
They had no remaining ties here except each other.
They had no reason to stay.
Shirou pondered a moment, then spoke seriously and asked, "Miyu, would you be willing to become my first Retainer?"
"Retainer", Miyu had no concept of the word; she didn't know what it meant at all.
But the request came from the person most important to her.
So she replied without hesitation, "I will!"
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