For this cup, to end all darkness and achieve world peace, he thought he had prepared himself for everything.
He firmly believed that as long as he obtained the Holy Grail, he could make his grand wish and save all of humanity.
But now, things might not be progressing as he had envisioned.
"This has to be a lie..." Kiritsugu muttered, his lips moving to produce a dry, hoarse sound.
*Hum—!!!!*
Under the varying gazes of everyone present.
An invisible mental ripple, centered on the Lesser Grail, instantly swept across the entirety of Ryuudou Temple, and even all of Fuyuki City.
The black mud stopped flowing, and the howling wind ceased.
Everyone participating in this war—
Asuka, Kiritsugu, Artoria, Tokiomi, Zouken, Sumire, and even Rin, who was hiding in the distance.
The scenes before their eyes shattered in an instant, turning into countless bizarre and dazzling fragments.
Their consciousnesses were all pulled into the interior of the Holy Grail.
Or rather, they were pulled into the nightmare woven by All the World's Evils, named [Wish].
"Sumire? Wake up, Sumire, you're going to be late for school."
A gentle voice rang in her ears.
Sumire Kamado groggily opened her eyes. What greeted her sight was a familiar ceiling, along with the smiling face of her mother, Haruri Kamado, who was wearing an apron and holding a spatula.
"Mo... Mom?"
Sumire abruptly sat up and looked around.
This was her room. Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly, and the birds were singing amidst the fragrant flowers.
There was no magecraft, no monsters, and no terrifying Holy Grail War.
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Haruri smiled and patted her head. "Hurry up and wash up. Breakfast is ready, and it's your favorite rolled omelet."
Sumire stared blankly at her mother, tears suddenly streaming down her face.
"Thank goodness... it was all just a dream..."
She jumped out of bed, wanting to hug her mother.
*Crack.*
A crisp sound echoed.
The moment Sumire's fingers touched her mother's body, Haruri's smile froze.
A layer of crystal-clear quartz instantly covered Haruri's entire body, turning her into a lifelike statue.
"Mo... Mom?"
Sumire backed away in terror, only to bump into the desk behind her.
She looked back and found that there were no books on the desk, but rather a series of exquisite little crystal boxes.
Inside the boxes were her classmates, her teachers, and that older brother named Asuka.
They all maintained their brightest smiles from when they were alive, sealed within the eternal, unchanging crystal.
A gentle yet hollow voice echoed in Sumire's mind.
"T... TE¤¥..."
Sumire slumped to the floor, looking at her mother who had turned into a crystal statue, and let out a despairing cry.
"It's too perfect. Is this... True Magic?"
Tokiomi Tohsaka stood in the void, looking at the vortex leading to the Root before him.
Flowing within it were all the truths and all the knowledge of the world.
"I have finally... arrived."
Tears welled up in Tokiomi's eyes. He raised his ruby-tipped cane, wanting to embrace this ultimate miracle.
"Yes, you did it."
A familiar voice came from behind him.
Tokiomi turned around and saw his wife, Aoi, along with his daughters, Rin and Sakura, as well as countless magi and apprentices he was on good terms with.
They were dressed in the most magnificent formal wear, wearing the most perfect smiles on their faces, lined up neatly behind him.
"Congratulations, darling."
"Congratulations, Father!"
"Congratulations, Master Tokiomi!"
They surrounded Tokiomi Tohsaka, clapping in unison.
"Aoi, Rin, Sakura... Look, this is the long-cherished wish of the Tohsaka Family!" Tokiomi said excitedly.
"Yes, Father," Rin spoke with a smile, but her voice was as cold as a synthesized machine. "To achieve this long-cherished wish, we have already made our preparations."
*Crack, crack.*
Under Tokiomi's horrified gaze, Rin's body suddenly split open.
Her skin peeled back, revealing not flesh and blood, but densely packed gears and circuits shimmering with magical energy.
Next was Sakura, then Aoi, and then everyone he knew.
Their bodies all disintegrated, turning into precise magical components that automatically flew toward the vortex of the Root.
They became the individual screws and valves maintaining the stability of that passageway.
That voice whispered in Tokiomi's ear.
"No..." Tokiomi reached out, wanting to grab even a corner of his daughter's clothes, but he only grasped cold magical residue.
Dark, damp, and putrid.
Zouken Matou opened his eyes, finding himself in a boundless underground cavern.
"Is this... the Root?"
He looked around, seeing no radiance of truth, only endless black mud.
Zouken looked down and found that his body had disappeared.
He had turned into a massive, swollen worm, soaking in that black mud.
Surrounding him were hundreds of millions of his own kind. They devoured and tore at each other, engaging in an endless cycle within this dead, silent world.
"Wh... What is this place?!" Zouken asked in confusion, only to find that he could only let out the squeaking chirps of a bug.
Zouken felt it.
A hunger capable of devouring all reason surged from the depths of his soul.
Uncontrollably, he opened his mouth and bit a nearby worm to death.
That worm bore the face of Kariya Matou.
'No! I am Makiri Zolgen! I am the one who will become a Soul Reaper, or even a higher existence!'
'You are nothing but a magic circle we constructed together! A tool for us to achieve our goals!'
'I cannot lose to you! I can't just...!!'
He rolled madly in the mire, but only sank deeper, ultimately being completely reduced to an inconspicuous member of the billions-strong swarm of worms.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, metallic scent, brushed against Kiritsugu Emiya's face.
He stood on the deck of a massive cruise ship.
The sky was blood-red, and the surface of the sea was blood-red as well.
"It's been a while, Kiritsugu."
A white-haired woman in red clothes stood opposite him. It was his adoptive mother and mentor, Natalia.
"Natalia..." Kiritsugu's voice trembled.
As calm as he usually was, he had already realized that this was merely a dream, yet he still couldn't control his emotions.
"You want to save the world, right?" Natalia smiled, toying with a dagger in her hand.
"Then, let's play a multiple-choice game."
She pointed to the sea on the left.
There were two ships there.
On one ship, there were three hundred innocent civilians.
On the other ship, there were two hundred prisoners.
"Now, you must choose one of the two ships to sink. If you don't make a choice, both ships will sink."
"There is no reason, no cause, and no other possibility."
Natalia's voice was like the whisper of a demon. "Which side will you save?"
"Do you even need to ask...?"
Kiritsugu raised the rocket launcher in his hands, aiming it at the ship with two hundred people.
"To save the majority... the minority must be sacrificed."
*Boom!*
The ship carrying two hundred people was blown to pieces.
Three hundred people were saved.
"Very good. This is your justice."
His vision twisted for a moment, and the scene before him changed accordingly.
This time, from the three hundred rescued people on the left, two smaller lifeboats separated.
One held two hundred people, and the other held one hundred.
"Hey, what about now? Are you going to kill one hundred people for the sake of two hundred?"
Natalia tossed a detonator switch into Kiritsugu's hands.
"Is this some kind of test? What's the point?" Kiritsugu did not hesitate.
*Boom—!!*
The lifeboat with one hundred people was blown into the air by him.
Next, the scope continued to shrink. Natalia kept giving him new choices, and the number of survivors grew smaller and smaller.
Eventually, only ten people remained.
And opposite these ten people.
Were his wife, Irisviel, and his daughter, Illya.
"Among these ten people, a deadly virus lies dormant. If they are allowed to enter the city, the infection will spread, causing tens of thousands of casualties."
Natalia continued to smile.
"And the cure is in the blood of Irisviel and Illya... To extract enough of the cure, their blood must be drained completely."
"Kiritsugu, what will you choose?"