Naturally, if Shirou Emiya wished to find Amakusa Shirou Tokisada within the Greater Grail, he would have to undergo the same trials.
Even then, it wasn't enough simply to pass these tests—if he failed to reach Amakusa before he finished altering the Grail, all his efforts would be in vain.
Thus, Shirou Emiya wasn't merely facing the Grail's internal trials. He had to race against time itself, reaching Amakusa at the heart of the Grail before the alterations were complete.
Shirou needed to expend greater effort, and pay a heavier price, than Amakusa had.
After all, Amakusa had entered the Grail half a day earlier. More importantly, compared to Shirou Emiya—
Amakusa, who had once served as Ruler, possessed deeper knowledge of the Greater Grail's inner workings. Furthermore, he still possessed something Shirou Emiya now lacked—
A physical body.
Within the Grail, a soul without its fleshly shell was far more vulnerable, more easily consumed by the Grail itself.
Surrounded by endless, borderless space—no sense of up, down, left, or right—Shirou Emiya felt his perception wavering dangerously.
All he could do was resist with sheer willpower, focusing his mind desperately.
At that very moment, a pure white light pierced through the darkness behind Shirou, enveloping him gently.
Rather than pain, warmth flooded his being—as if someone were praying earnestly for him.
It was a presence Shirou knew intimately.
The radiant white glow quietly surrounded him, gently gathering at his feet.
A pure-white path silently appeared before him.
Jeanne, the saint who could communicate with God and who had absolute faith in Shirou, had her prayers answered within the Holy Grail.
Yet rather than the direct response of God, this was perhaps the Grail itself acknowledging the saint's blessing toward Shirou.
After all, Jeanne had been summoned by the Greater Grail. Though she hadn't prayed directly to it, the Grail still lent the greatest aid it could offer.
After drifting helplessly through emptiness, Shirou Emiya finally felt solid ground beneath his feet again.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shirou stepped forward onto the pure-white path, running forward with all his strength.
He trusted Jeanne completely, trusted this road that had appeared in his greatest moment of need.
But illuminating the path was all the Grail could do; everything else was up to Shirou Emiya himself.
"You cannot succeed—turn back now..."
"Give up. This path is far harder than you could possibly imagine..."
"Come—join us, and sink into blissful oblivion..."
Countless whispers swarmed around Shirou, each imbued with seductive magic, relentlessly assaulting his mind, tempting him away from the pure-white road toward another path nearby.
Indeed…
Why struggle so hard?
Why sacrifice your life this way?
Wouldn't it be easier just to lie down?
Wouldn't it be better to simply live in comfort?
Even if you give everything—what can you possibly gain?
Yet Shirou Emiya acted as if he hadn't heard a single word, continuing down the pristine white road without even pausing.
His heart held only a single, unshakeable conviction:
"Only by shouldering this burden myself can more people find happiness!"
Such whispers couldn't sway Shirou Emiya's heart even slightly—borrowed ideal or not.
His resolve was no less than Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's. Such shallow temptations had no chance of shaking his core.
Whoosh—!
As if sensing mere whispers wouldn't halt him, the pure-white road ahead suddenly warped drastically.
Countless thorns, swamps, lava fields, towering mountains, and raging seas materialized before him.
Obstacle upon obstacle stacked ahead, along with a crushing force of gravity pressing relentlessly upon Shirou.
His footsteps immediately became agonizingly difficult.
"I will become—a hero of justice!!!"
These weren't mere empty words; they were the creed Shirou Emiya had always lived by, pursued relentlessly through any adversity or suffering.
Across intersecting dimensions—
He charged through endless thorns, even as his body was shredded bloody.
He climbed mountain after mountain, even as exhaustion filled every fiber of his being.
He swam through turbulent oceans, even as his vision blurred dangerously.
Fully aware that the path ahead was nearly impossible, Shirou Emiya nevertheless pressed onward without slowing his pace.
Amakusa must have traveled this same path.
Perhaps their similarities went deeper than name alone; even their responses to trials like these were astonishingly alike.
In the face of those seductive whispers, Shirou Emiya and Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had both persevered with unshakeable conviction.
Confronted with overwhelming adversity, neither had ever hesitated or retreated, moving forward step by step toward their goal.
Just then, voices filled with rage and anguish rose furiously around Shirou Emiya.
"This is the hope of us Einzberns!"
"It must be done!"
"The Root!"
"The Root!"
These were obsessions left behind within the Greater Grail by generations of Einzbern magi.
"The Grail is mine! It belongs to the Matou family!"
"No one can stop me!"
"Immortality!"
"Immortality!"
These were the deranged echoes of past defeated participants in the Holy Grail Wars, mixed with younger voices filled with ambition and madness.
"Humanity must be saved!"
Finally came Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's gentle, yet deeply resolute voice.
Yet Shirou Emiya continued forward without wavering, unstoppable in his resolve.
Onward he walked.
And walked.
Until, finally, a man appeared, kneeling in desolation amidst countless swords, hair stark white, draped in a red cloak, pierced through with countless blades, clutching twin swords—one black, one white.
How utterly similar this man was to himself—covered in blades, wearing that red cloak, with that stark white hair.
Perhaps Shirou's own hair would turn just as pale when he finally exhausted all his strength.
But even now, Shirou Emiya did not pause.
Not until the resonant hum of a blade rang out clearly before him.
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T/N: WOAH