"Miyu! That's not a place Servants can enter!"
As Saber had shouted, the interior of the Holy Grail was a forbidden zone for Servants.
After all, Servants are essentially fragnts of Heroic Spirits pulled from the Throne of Heroes by humans with the assistance of the Holy Grail. The souls of Servants are the energy source for the Holy Grail. A Servant entering the Holy Grail directly should, in theory, be reduced to the most primitive form of 'soul,' becoming the power source that drives the Holy Grail.
Under the protection of Sakatsuki's Third Magic, Miyu was spared from disappearing, but her spiritual core still suffered irreversible damage.
And afterward, she unleashed her Noble Phantasm at full power—a wish that required consuming her own stamina to activate.
Injury upon injury, Miyu's spiritual foundation inevitably collapsed.
"I'll use a Command Spell—" Sakatsuki said, raising his arm, but Miyu hugged him.
"No need. Even after all that's happened, you're still my onii-chan~"
The white-haired young man lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry. I'm just a counterfeit who inherited your brother's mories. I don't even know if the emotions I feel for you are real or just born from guilt."
"Mmm~ No, that's not it." Miyu buried her face in Sakatsuki's chest and shook her head. "Those feelings are genuine. As the Child of God, I wouldn't overlook your emotions."
The tangible sensation of her body gradually faded, and in the final mont, what reached him was Miyu's smiling farewell.
"It was such a wonderful journey, brother. In that world, we'll et again, won't we?"
The azure-haired magical girl, carrying beautiful mories, slowly dissipated under the silver moonlight.
Sakatsuki maintained his embrace for a while before turning to Naless, whose legs had already vanished. "What about you? I thought you'd disappear on your own in the imaginary space. After all, I don't really like farewells without any room for ambiguity."
"Yeah, farewells should be quiet and unspoken, leaving hope for a future reunion." Naless smiled and nodded. Having spent so much ti with Sakatsuki, his long-forgotten mories were slowly returning.
"However, sothing unexpected happened, so I had no choice but to co out."
Naless, with his white hair and golden eyes, though his gaze bore the marks of ti, raised his hand. In it, a wisp of imaginary shadow twisted defiantly, sotis taking the form of a standing goat, sotis a horned beast, and other tis a multi-headed monster...
"What is this?" Instinctively, Sakatsuki sensed extre danger within it.
It was as if his 'imaginary shadow' had beco a cage, imprisoning a flood capable of destroying the world.
If released, the first to suffer would undoubtedly be its owner—himself.
Noticing Sakatsuki's wary gaze, Naless awkwardly handed over the imaginary shadow. "I didn't want to either, but at the last mont, I didn't have enough strength to do more. This is the best I could manage, second-round ."
"Second-round..." Sakatsuki glared at him but still took back the imaginary shadow, imdiately feeling the increased burden on his soul. "Hmph, with my personality, I'd never waste that sense of novelty. I guess I'll have to explore what's inside the imaginary shadow myself, huh? 'First-round Sakatsuki'?"
"Correct, absolutely correct." As he spoke, Naless's upper body began to dissolve as well.
"Also, there's a curse attached to what's inside, and the specifics of that curse... well, refer to the above."
"...You bastard, just hurry up and disappear already." Sakatsuki sighed in resignation, while Naless, now reduced to just a head, flashed a triumphant smile.
"It's really fun to see yourself annoyed by your own cryptic behavior... Well, this is truly goodbye."
Without the sorrow of parting or the regret of never eting again, the two simply bid each other goodnight in a calm and ordinary manner. One returned to the moon, while the other continued to walk under the starry sky.
In this life, they would never et again.
***
The Servants had vanished, and the opponents no longer existed.
Now, the only one left in Ryudou Temple was Sakatsuki.
A golden light erged as the Holy Grail, having gathered the souls of the Servants, floated in the air, radiating a pure glow.
Sakatsuki didn't know what Naless had done, nor did he know that Naless had sealed the Beast after he left, preventing the Holy Grail from being tainted again. He simply stared blankly at the omnipotent chalice sought by countless people, his body gradually fading.
His physical form had already been destroyed. Once the state of the Heaven's Cup ended, his soul would be exposed and dissipate.
And he had only participated in this Holy Grail War to extend his life—
"Then, let's begin."
Sakatsuki closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and made his wish:
"I wish to obtain a body."
There was no need to specify conditions or details in his words. The Holy Grail would automatically fill in the gaps based on his thoughts.
A gentle, miraculous golden light enveloped Sakatsuki.
As if floating in a golden river, the warm sensation made Sakatsuki close his eyes and drift into a long-awaited deep slumber.
The light of the wish condensed, forming a pure golden cocoon that floated in the air.
On the ground, shadows began to writhe.
***
[Warning: High-priority target detected.]
[Confirming target: Beast▉▉▉!]
[Confirmation: No threat.]
[Confirmation: Extre threat.]
[Warning: Special target detected.]
[Confirming target: Individual bearing the fate of ▉▉!]
[Confirmation: Extre threat.]
[Confirmation: Extre threat.]
[Issuing joint request.]
[Gaia approves.]
[Alaya agrees.]
[Initiating expulsion protocol for the individual.]
It was the will of the planet, the construct of humanity. When the two great Counter Forces joined together, the terrifying force of expulsion surged forth like a natural disaster, battering the golden cocoon and causing it to sway.
It wasn't an attempt to kill, but rather the instinctive reaction of swatting away a mosquito that had landed on one's arm, or the response to seeing a charging mammoth.
While he (they) were still asleep, quickly expel them from this worldline!
In an instant, the two Counter Forces reached a consensus and combined their power to try and expel Sakatsuki and his shadow.
But a strange light rose, and sothing resembling the outline of a book erged from the cocoon, blocking the planet's expulsion.
At the sa ti, the golden cocoon, sensing the expulsion, reacted.
[World expulsion detected.]
[Wish fulfillnt failed. Reconstructing wish target...]
[Based on Wish Clause 01: Compatibility with the soul; Wish Clause 03: Requires high growth potential. Modifying fulfillnt thod.]
[Initiating information search. Copying an individual from this world to serve as a Texture, reconstructing the body, and transferring the soul.]
[Selecting... Selection successful.]
[Individual na: Shirou Emiya.]
[Constructing Texture. Applying... Application complete.]
[Initiating soul-body synchronization... Synchronization complete. Physical appearance changes within acceptable range.]
[Initiating soul infusion. Estimated ti: Seven hours.]
[Executing...]
Within the golden cocoon, the outline of a human form gradually took shape.
****
Note: Regarding the difference between 'first-round Sakatsuki' and 'second-round Sakatsuki,' it's like the different endings in Elden Ring—for example, if first-round Sakatsuki took Saber's scabbard and summoned Saber to fight for him, he wouldn't gain Irisviel's recognition and thus wouldn't obtain the fragnt of the Third Magic, losing access to it. This would lead to Naless's storyline.
On the other hand, if Sakatsuki didn't take Saber's scabbard, gained Irisviel's recognition, obtained the fragnt of the Third Magic, and comprehended it, that would be the second-round storyline.
But this is just a hypothetical, as the different choices people make at different junctures will influence the future. As for such things, it's up to individual interpretation.
By the way, just to ntion, there won't be any more protagonists from other worldlines making cao appearances. Readers who aren't fond of such plotlines can rest assured.
***
Hey readers!
Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30 advance Chapters! Your support helps write more and bring the story to you faster.
🔹/aarvan🔹
Reviews
All reviews (0)