In front of the Einzbern castle.
The freezing wind blew relentlessly, scattering snow across the entire mountain.
The gray sky seemed even heavier that morning.
Sakura stood silently before the enormous castle gates, her small hands clasped together in front of her chest.
However, the Command Seals on her hand had completely vanished.
It had happened so suddenly a few hours earlier that, for several seconds, Sakura couldn't even understand what had happened.
She simply stared blankly at her hand without the seals.
Then, all color drained from her face as she understood what it meant.
"That can't be…"
Her voice came out low, fragile, and trembling.
For a Master, the disappearance of the Command Seals meant only one thing.
The death of their Servant.
And because Sakura understood that, her heart sank instantly.
"Sakura?!"
Rin immediately grabbed her sister by the shoulders when she noticed her beginning to tremble.
Even Illya, who was normally energetic and lively, turned completely pale.
"The Command Seals… disappeared…" Sakura murmured.
For a moment, nobody could say anything.
Behind them, Aoi Tohsaka slowly raised a hand to her mouth.
Her face was filled with worry.
Even Hisui, usually expressionless, widened her eyes slightly when she noticed it.
The cheerful Kohaku completely lost her smile.
Fujino silently lowered her gaze.
And even Caren, who would normally make some sarcastic comment in a situation like this, remained completely silent.
A suffocating tension overtook the castle entrance.
All of Arthur's adoptive sisters had already understood what this could mean.
And precisely because they understood it, it made everything even worse.
"No…" Kohaku murmured quietly, trying to force a nervous smile. "This must mean something else, right?"
But even she didn't seem to believe her own words.
Hisui remained motionless, but her fingers discreetly tightened around the hem of her maid uniform.
Fujino silently observed the sky, despite her face remaining calm.
Her eyes clearly revealed the growing anxiety within her.
Even Caren frowned.
"…Tch! This isn't funny at all, you idiot."
Meanwhile, Sakura slowly lowered her head.
Her body trembled lightly as tears began forming in her eyes.
She continued praying for their safe return.
Even without the Command Seals.
Even without any remaining connection between them.
She continued praying for their return.
That was all she could do now.
It had already been a very long time since Arthur had left.
But for Sakura, it felt like an eternity.
The constant longing she felt for him had turned every day into a painful wait. Even though she was surrounded by wonderful company, it still couldn't completely fill the emptiness she felt.
Rin and Illya stood beside her, one on each side.
Even without fully understanding what had happened, the two followed Sakura's example and began praying together.
The three little girls, wrapped in thick padded coats, faced the wind and snow before the gates of the Einzbern castle in complete silence.
Behind them, Aoi watched everything with a worried expression.
Standing beside her were Hisui and Kohaku, both dressed in their maid uniforms.
Further back, Fujino silently stood holding a white umbrella despite the blizzard.
Caren merely crossed her arms while staring at the sky, clearly irritated.
But her fingers tapped restlessly against her arm.
She was worried too.
Far more than she wanted to admit.
Even Jubstacheit, who normally remained isolated inside the workshop and almost never came outside, appeared before the gates at that moment.
With his hands behind his back, he silently observed the sky.
As a family created solely to achieve the Third Magic, all the Einzberns had already sensed that something normally impossible was happening.
BOOOOOOM—
Suddenly, a blue portal appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the snowy field.
The snow was instantly blown away by the magical pressure.
The children widened their eyes.
Kohaku literally let out a scream.
Hisui slightly raised her eyes for the first time.
Even Caren lost her composure for a second.
At the center of that light, a figure slowly emerged.
Arthur, still dressed in his white Ruler outfit.
Although his presence still carried the same warm feeling as always, it now seemed almost unreal.
Beside him, Irisviel appeared wearing a pure white dress, her long silver hair swaying in the wind.
And on the other side, Artoria appeared dressed in an elegant blue-and-white dress, her golden hair illuminated by the surrounding light.
The two women followed closely behind Arthur.
For a moment, nobody could react to the trio's sudden appearance.
Silence completely dominated the place.
Then, Sakura's eyes began filling with tears.
"Arthur…"
Her voice faltered for a moment.
The tears began falling before she even realized it.
Rin was completely stunned.
"They finally came back…"
Even Illya seemed unable to believe what she was seeing.
"Arthur!"
It was Kohaku who shouted first, instantly breaking the silence.
Then everything turned chaotic.
"Arthur!!!"
Sakura ran first.
Rin and Kohaku immediately followed behind her.
The girls practically threw themselves at him at the same time.
Arthur barely had time to open his arms before the children crashed into him.
"Sakura, Rin, Kohaku…"
His voice came out softer than usual.
"I'm back."
The children immediately began crying.
All the fear, anxiety, and tension that had built up since the disappearance of the Command Seals exploded all at once.
Sakura desperately clung to his clothes, burying her face in his chest as she cried silently.
Like someone who had finally regained something they thought they had lost forever.
"You finally came back…"
Her voice trembled.
"You really came back…"
Arthur gently stroked her head.
"Of course I came back."
Rin was crying too.
Even while desperately trying to maintain her composure.
"Idiot…" she complained while wiping her eyes. "You scared the hell out of us…"
Kohaku, meanwhile, simply hugged Arthur with all the strength she had.
"I knew it! I knew you wouldn't die!"
Even while saying that, she was crying too.
Arthur held one in each arm.
But there was clearly not enough space.
So Rin, being Rin, immediately climbed onto his shoulders.
Completely shamelessly.
"Hmph! Total victory for Rin Tohsaka!"
She proudly declared.
"Rin, that's unfair!" Kohaku immediately complained.
After realizing that strategy worked, she instantly puffed her cheeks in regret.
"I should've thought of that first!"
Even Arthur ended up laughing.
Further back, Aoi slowly brought her hands to her mouth while tears streamed down her face.
Her body finally relaxed completely for the first time in hours.
"Arthur…"
Her voice came out low and filled with relief.
Illya literally started crying while smiling at the same time.
"Welcome back~!"
Even Hisui discreetly lowered her head, clearly relieved.
"…I'm glad you came back."
Fujino silently observed Arthur, but there was a small yet very noticeable smile on her face.
A rare smile on her normally expressionless face.
Caren let out a long irritated sigh.
"…Seriously. What a troublesome man."
But soon after, she smiled slightly as well.
Artoria silently watched the scene.
Then, her gaze met Irisviel's.
The two ended up smiling at the same time.
Because they understood perfectly.
That man had truly returned.
Once again, he had fulfilled his promise.
(End of Chapter)
A/N: And with that, we conclude the Fate/Zero arc.
To be completely honest, this was the best arc I've ever written so far. Yes, it had some problems here and there, some details that could've been better, and certain parts that I might change today, but honestly? That's irrelevant right now. The feeling of finally creating something I can genuinely be proud of is simply overwhelming.
At the beginning, I had almost no confidence that this arc would actually turn out good. Several times, while writing the early chapters, I kept wondering whether I'd be able to execute all the ideas properly or if the development would work the way I intended.
But fortunately, that gradually changed throughout the chapters.
As the story progressed, I became more and more confident in what I was doing. Little by little, I finally started putting into practice everything I had imagined for this arc from the very beginning, developing scenes exactly the way I wanted, building interactions and important moments with far more confidence than I initially had.
And honestly… I'm extremely satisfied with the final result.
All I can say now is: thank you so much for following the development of this arc all the way to this point. Truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Now, enough being melodramatic and moving on, I'll be putting this fic on pause for about two or three days. I already have a rough idea of what I want to do next, but I'd rather work on it calmly and organize everything properly before starting the next arc.
And speaking of that…
The next arc will be Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front, since I intend to connect it with the ending of Fate/Zero.