Hanging high in the sky was a bright, full moon.
Beautiful yet chilling.
The moonlight, silent, shone upon the three.
The rebellious knight could not carry out her rebellion, and the idealistic king could not uphold her ideals.
Abandoning rebellion, discarding ideals.
All because of the man who had fought until now.
"...Are you awake?"
"I'm sorry, I've made a ss of myself, letting Mordred and you, Artoria, see like this... It shouldn't have been this way, if only I could have done better... I didn't want to make you so sad..."
"Fool, if there's anyone in the world who's the most stubborn, the most inflexible, I'd definitely put you in that position."
Artoria looked coldly at Moran.
She no longer held herself as a king, but like a devoted wife, she knelt before the weary man.
Her words were scolding.
But her gentle touch revealed her tenderness.
"Father... my thoughts haven't changed... but I can't deceive myself anymore... I can't let you suffer any longer..."
Mordred knelt like a child who had done sothing wrong.
Her words were both heartbreaking and amusing.
She hadn't given up because Moran had moved her, but because continuing would betray her original intent.
She wanted to save Moran.
To spare him any more pain.
If continuing the fight would only increase his suffering, then she had lost the reason to fight.
In principle, this wasn't a contradiction.
"You... who did you inherit this single-mindedness from..."
Moran couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
Unaware, he was t with a glare from the two won, and he awkwardly averted his gaze.
"...Artoria, I had a dream."
"...What dream?"
It had always been Moran who watched over them.
Now, as the last dragon was tornted by the pain of his decline, they chose to set aside their differences and care for the man they loved.
"Mordred, it's about you too..."
"Related to ...?"
"Hmm..."
[You nodded calmly]
[Then, taking advantage of this quiet mont, you spoke of the progress that should have belonged to this world]
[It was a world without the last dragon]
[A girl raised from childhood to be a king, she beca a king because of the smallest wish, and was once told that she would endure countless betrayals and misunderstandings in the future, which sounds no different from the present]
[But, the girl in this story]
[She did not understand what human love was, completely unaware of what selfish desires were, and was alone until her death]
[If one has a human heart, one cannot beco a king to protect the people]
[She achieved her ideal by killing herself]
[She took the opposite path of inhumanity]
[On the other hand, a homunculus who was treated as a tool from birth, completely used by the witch for revenge]
[She could not clearly define what self was]
[In the end, she lived as a non-human, yearning to beco human, but was scarred along the way]
[She wanted to gain her father's approval]
[But in the end, she was t with a cold and ruthless rejection]
[In the end, she could only choose to destroy the country her father had built for over twenty years under madness and obsession, and was finally pierced by her father's holy spear on a hill covered with corpses]
[It was a tragic and sorrowful ending]
"Moran... is this the future you saw at the beginning? Is this the future you saw when you first ca to Britain?"
"Pretty much as you said, Artoria."
Moran nodded in response.
Although it was not seen through future vision, but rather the records of his knowledge of the Moonlit World in his mind.
But overall, it was not much dif.
"What I want to say is, the ending I saw was dest and tragedy. Seeing you erase yourself, Mordred falling into confusion and madness, these are things I want to avoid."
[Even though you almost reached this point]
[You still believe it is different from the original]
[The King of Knights understands human love and selfish desires, and has things she cherishes and beautiful dreams]
[The homunculus has found herself]
[She wants to work hard to protect her own happiness, and there is no confusion on this path]
[This must be very different from the original]
[It will never lead to tragedy]
"I..."
Artoria could sowhat imagine.
The self that completely pursued the ideal and chose to erase herself.
It was precisely because she had once had such thoughts.
After experiencing the happiness of being human, she could intimately understand how terrifying this choice was.
That her was fundantally different from humans.
She was neither human, nor was she raised as a human.
Despite that, she wanted to consider herself a proper human. Soone who did not know human happiness, yet loved the happiness of people.
Just like a monster, a monster surpassing Vortigern.
It was impossible for others to understand.
Wasn't her way of existence the hell that humans envisioned for their own convenience?
"..."
Even Artoria could not accept it.
She could not think deeply about the self that walked that path.
She could imagine the knights who were guided by that self, they would still love and respect the king.
But they would definitely not accept her as a human.
[After listening to your story, she felt an unprecedented sense of absurdity, as well as a shaful sense of relief]
[She felt sorrow for the ideal king]
[The current Artoria could not be like her, because she has things she loves]
[In fact, Mordred's emotions were even more complex]
[She could not imagine a world without you, what would she be like in that world?]
[Probably, she wouldn't even have a self]
[In the end, it was indeed as you said, the rebellious knight in the story never received love even once]
[She didn't even gain a self in death]
"So, I want to say. Mordred, although I am suffering now, it is my own choice. I will not repeat the mistakes of the original path."
"But! Father... you will disappear... after that... I, I... to you..."
Mordred held Moran's hand.
Childlike sobs poured from her eyes and throat.
She hoped things would not turn out this way.
"Mother... she still has a way to save you! As long as you agree, there is still hope!"
Mordred seed to grasp at the last straw.
She eagerly spoke out.
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