"I'm fine! I'm leaving!"
Ignoring Zenjou Aoi's protests, Matou Kariya forced his way out of the hospital.
"Sorry, Aoi, I just remembered something urgent I have to do!"
With those rushed words, Kariya hopped into a taxi and left.
Aoi stood at the hospital entrance, guilt weighing on her. He must resent me…
In the taxi, Kariya's face was tense, urging the driver, "Please, hurry! It's urgent!"
He couldn't let his dream's events come true. He had to stop it, to save Sakura.
"But… it was just a dream, thankfully…"
"You really think so?"
As Kariya clung to the relief that it was merely a nightmare, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Who? Who's speaking?"
Kariya instinctively scanned his surroundings.
"Something wrong, sir?"
"Nothing, probably just hearing things."
Kariya's taut nerves eased slightly, chalking it up to overthinking.
"Stop deceiving yourself! Was that dream too detailed to be just a dream? That was you. If you keep charging forward recklessly, you'll be toyed with, mocked like a clown, and worst of all… you'll save no one! That… is your fate!"
The voice resounded again. Kariya looked around—no one but the driver.
"Who are you? Where are you?"
He couldn't help but ask aloud.
The driver's gaze turned wary.
"I'm in your mind. I am you! The fool who saved no one. To save Sakura, you need power. Get out, find a secluded place, and accept me! Together… we can defeat Matou Zouken, save Sakura, and punish that bastard Tohsaka Tokiomi!"
"I…"
"Do you think you can face Zouken? Do you want to save Sakura? Trust me—I won't harm you… because I am you!"
"Stop the car!"
Kariya's demeanor darkened, his words sharp and steady.
"Uh, sure!"
The driver pulled over, opening the door. Even without payment, he stayed silent.
"What bad luck… picking up a nutcase."
The driver wiping sweat as he watched Kariya fade into the distance through the rearview mirror.
"What do I do?"
Kariya didn't know why he trusted the voice so readily—perhaps his lack of confidence, his love for Sakura, his hatred for Tokiomi, or because, as it claimed, it was him.
"Matou Zouken is a demon lurking in this city's shadows for centuries. You and I alone can't defeat him. We need power—a miracle! Fortunately, this city never lacks miracles. Go, find a secluded place. Accept me, accept yourself, awaken your magecraft, summon an ancient hero, and seize that miracle!"
"I'll claim that miracle!"
A secluded place—Zouken knew one well.
A dim alley where he'd collapsed countless times in pain, only to rise again driven by obsession and resentment.
"Embrace me!"
Another Kariya appeared before him, but unlike the present him, this one was wretched.
Half his face was etched with vein-like patterns, pulsing like pipes. His ashen complexion and tattered body resembled a broken ragdoll.
"This is what happens when you naively confront Zouken and trust him!"
"I…"
Seeing this version of himself, Kariya's last doubts vanished.
The delusion he'd clung to shattered. He was certain Zouken would reduce him to this.
"Come!"
The other Kariya opened his arms, repulsive worms burrowing through his skin, leaving bloodless holes.
Kariya understood—this was himself, devoured by Crest Worms.
Facing this, he felt no fear or disgust. He opened his arms and embraced himself.
"This time… I will win!"
Thud.
Kariya's body contorted, blood spraying outward.
The alley walls were streaked with crimson, his screams piercing the sky, but an invisible curtain contained the sound.
Glowing circuit-like patterns appeared on his body. A new "organ" formed within, opening the door to the world of magecraft.
Life force converted into power, yet Kariya felt no weakness—only strength.
"This time… I will win!"
On his right hand, the key to his "miracle" manifested.
A vivid red cross, composed of three parts—the ticket to the Holy Grail War.
"Matou Zouken, I'll see you dead! Tohsaka Tokiomi… I'll kill you myself! Only I can kill you!"
His Origin awakened. For a fleeting moment, Kariya touched something extraordinary.
One millisecond longer, and he'd have become part of "it."
The Root—the ultimate goal of Nasuverse's magi, where all knowledge, and thus omnipotence, resided.
But a mortal's will, compared to that infinite knowledge, was insignificant, often assimilated instantly.
***
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