When the first thread of sunlight pierced the heavy smoke and spilled across the ruins, the nightmare known as the "Great Feud" finally came to an end.
Alfia was gone.Zard was gone.
They left no bodies behind—but everyone understood what it meant: the last elegy of an old era, and a curtain call offered to make room for the new.
Shirou Emiya lay with his head in Alise's lap.
Don't ask why it had to be a lap pillow—this was an injured man's privilege, and also the mandatory perk every light-novel protagonist is legally entitled to receive. He could feel himself growing lighter.
Not the floaty weakness of blood loss.
This was… different.
It was as if the world itself was peeling his "existence" away layer by layer.
"So… it's time," Shirou murmured, lifting his hand to his face.
His fingertips had already begun to turn translucent, breaking into golden particles that drifted upward into the sky. The visual effect was so on-brand it was almost funny—like the standard Fate-style "heroic spirit exit animation," tasteful and expensive in the way only a fully funded scene could be.
"Shirou?! Your hand—?!" Ryuu cried, clutching a handkerchief that she'd been using to wipe blood and soot from his face. Terror crashed through her voice. "Why is it glowing?! I can see through it—!"
"Is it a side effect from that magic?!" Laila dropped her greatshield and lunged forward. "Hey! Don't do this to me! You promised you'd cook for us forever! This is breach of contract! This is absolutely breach of contract!"
"Sorry, Laila." Shirou smiled apologetically.
Even as he faded, his mind felt strangely clear—lighter than it had ever been.
"Looks like my visa's expired," he said softly. "This wandering cook has to go. If I don't, the world's firewall will tag me as malware and delete me."
"Where are you going?" Alise clutched his dissolving hand with both of hers. The red-haired captain—always loud, always fearless—was trembling now. "Back home? To the Far East? Or somewhere even farther?"
"…Probably…" Shirou's voice thinned, as if it were already coming from very far away. "…the future."
"The future?" Kaguya blinked—then her eyes sharpened as pieces fell into place. "That explains it… your swordsmanship, your cooking, the way you knew the Dark Faction like you'd read the script."
She jabbed a finger at him accusingly, half incredulous, half vindicated.
"I knew it! There's no way a local from this era makes mapo tofu that good. You… you came back from the future to save us, didn't you?"
"Who knows." Shirou didn't answer directly.
Instead, he looked at them—at Alise, Kaguya, Laila… and Ryuu.
In the original history, they should have died days later in a trap, all of them, leaving only Ryuu behind to carry a crushing cross alone.
But now they were here.
Alive.
Battered, filthy, bleeding—yet alive. They would still laugh. Still cry. Still argue about what to eat for dinner.
That alone was enough.
That was why he had swung his sword.
"Listen," Shirou said, and his voice began to take on an airy, echoing quality, like it was being played back from a distance.
"The road ahead… might be difficult."
"The Dark Faction won't just stop. The Guild might not be as reliable as you want it to be."
"But… as long as you stay together. As long as you don't let go of your swords—of your justice—"
His gaze settled on Ryuu.
That earnest elf with sky-blue eyes. The kind who could corner herself inside a single thought until nothing in the world could pull her back out.
"Ryuu."
"I'm here." She wiped at her tears desperately, but the tears just kept coming, like a broken dam. She'd never imagined she'd cry like this over a man she'd known for less than a month.
"Don't become…" Shirou lifted a hand that was almost gone, fingers barely more than light, and gently traced the air near her cheek. "…a ghost that only knows revenge."
"Your wind… is meant to be free. Warm."
"Don't let hatred stain your wings."
"Live," he whispered, "and laugh—enough for all of us."
"…I… I promise!" Ryuu nodded hard, voice shattered. "I won't forget you. Even if a hundred years pass—no, a thousand! Even if my life as an elf reaches its end!"
"That's good." Shirou smiled, satisfied, and closed his eyes.
The last weight left his body.
The final image in his fading sight was the girls' faces—tear-streaked, desperate… and still full of hope.
A perfect still frame. The kind that would make a "Top 10 Most Emotional Moments of the Year" list without even trying.
"Then… goodbye."
"Some day in the future… we'll meet again."
"If that future really exists."
Light flooded his outline.
The red-haired hero dissolved into countless golden particles and merged with Orario's morning sun.
Like an unreal dream.
Yet what he left behind—the field of broken swords, the lives he saved, the seed called hope—would remain carved into this era forever.
Thud.
A violent sensation of falling.
Like dropping from ten thousand meters without a parachute—only to slam into something surprisingly soft.
A bed?
"H—!" Shirou shot upright, gasping, drenched in cold sweat.
It felt like he'd woken from a seven-year nightmare.
His hand flew to his waist—empty. No twin blades.Then to his chest—heartbeat steady. No wound. No pain.Then to his right hand—
Perfect.
Not even a trace of the charred damage he'd suffered from forcing impossible projections through his body. His skin looked… healthier than before.
"…Where am I?" Shirou muttered, scanning the room.
Stone walls he recognized. Magic-stone lamps. And outside the window—
Babel Tower, soaring into the sky.
There was no choking stink of blood and poison in the air, only faint incense.
This was—
Twilight Manor. Loki Familia's home.
"…I'm back?" Shirou whispered, dazed.
Was everything he'd lived through just a dream?The dark age, Alfia, Zard, Astraea Familia—
Had it all been a deathbed hallucination? A final montage?
No.
Shirou clenched his fist.
His magic circuits still carried that hardened toughness carved by being pushed to the brink. The battle sense born on the edge of death was etched into his bones.
And more than that—
In the deepest part of his soul, on the "Moon World Skill Tree" interface—
A new golden achievement badge had appeared.
[Epic Quest Complete: Observer Who Overturned Tragedy][Reward: Reality Marble — Unlimited Blade Works (Complete) Unlocked][Reward: Worldline Deviation Rate 1.048596% → ??? (Worldline Reconstructed)]
"Worldline deviation…" Shirou murmured.
As a properly trained otaku from a previous life, he knew exactly what that meant.
Steins;Gate logic.
A butterfly had flapped its wings.
The past had changed.
So… what did the present look like now? What kind of future had been rewritten?
And then—
The door opened.
"Emiya? You're awake?"
Aiz Wallenstein stepped in, carrying a basin of water.
She was as she always was—cool, beautiful, golden hair falling loosely over her shoulders.
But the moment she saw him sitting up, her amber eyes lit up so brightly the basin slipped out of her hands.
Clang! Water splashed everywhere.
"Emiya!" Aiz rushed forward and hugged him hard.
"I'm so glad—so glad—! You were unconscious for three days… Riveria said your soul's waves disappeared, I—"
"Sorry." Shirou patted her back gently, feeling her warmth and the undeniable reality of her presence.
So he really had returned to the correct time.
The "modern" Great Feud was over. He'd collapsed after his fight with Ottar.
But then a thought struck him like lightning—his heart kicking hard against his ribs.
This was the key moment. The test.
"Aiz… about Ryuu—"
"Ryuu?" Aiz pulled back, puzzled, staring at him like he'd suddenly developed amnesia. "You mean 'Gale Wind'? What about her?"
"Is she… okay?" Shirou asked carefully. "I mean—she's not a wanted criminal, right?"
If history hadn't changed, Ryuu should still be hunted by the Guild—a fugitive washing dishes in a tavern, living under a false name, carrying her past alone.
"Wanted…?" Aiz tilted her head. Then she reached up and touched Shirou's forehead like he might be running a fever.
"What are you saying, Emiya? Did Ottar hit your head too hard?"
"Ryuu Lion is Astraea Familia's vice-captain. She's officially recognized by the Guild as an agent of justice."
"How could she be a wanted criminal?"
"…Huh?"
Shirou froze.
His brain hard-crashed for three full seconds.
Vice-captain.Agent of justice.
Meaning—
"Astraea Familia…" His voice shook with the kind of emotion he couldn't hold back. "…still exists?"
"Of course." Aiz answered as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "They're usually low-profile. They mostly work out of another base—helping the Guild with difficult cases."
"But I heard Captain Alise brought everyone back to Orario recently to report in."
She blinked.
"They're at the Hostess of Fertility right now. Having a celebration dinner. Something about an anniversary."
Boom.
Fireworks went off in Shirou's skull.
They lived.
All of them lived.
The tragedy that should have erased them—gone. Deleted. Corrected.
Alise didn't die. Kaguya didn't die. Laila didn't die.
Ryuu wasn't alone anymore.
"Hah…" Shirou laughed—then the laugh broke into tears.
He covered his eyes with one hand, shoulders shaking.
"…Thank god."
"…It really…"
Aiz stared, worried, watching him laugh and cry at the same time.
"Emiya… are you sure you're okay? Should I call Riveria to check your brain? Or ask Tsubaki to make you a helmet that… holds your brain in place?"
"I'm fine!" Shirou wiped his face and stood so fast he nearly tripped. "I have never been this clear-headed in my life!"
"Aiz, let's go. We're eating. Hostess of Fertility. Now. Immediately."
"Eh? But you just woke—"
"I'm fine!" Shirou declared with absolute confidence. "I feel like I can eat an entire cow—no, I can cook one!"
Aiz's eyes brightened.
"I'm coming too. I want croquettes."
"Deal. Today's on me!" Shirou pointed dramatically. "Buy whatever you want! I've got magic stones!"
Orario's West Main Street was bright with peace. People filled the road—laughter, chatter, the simple bustle of life that had survived a nightmare.
Shirou dragged Aiz through the crowd like a boy sprinting to meet his first love. Adventurers stared as he ran past, thinking, Is that red-haired guy insane? He just got out of bed and he's doing this?
Aiz said, "Slow down, Emiya…"…while matching his pace effortlessly, because to a Level 6 this speed was basically a stroll.
At last, the familiar sign came into view:
The Hostess of Fertility.
Today it was unusually loud.
Even before they reached the door, they could hear uproarious laughter and bickering spilling into the street.
"Cheers—!!""Alise! You stole my meat again!""That's mine!""That's captain privilege!""Kaguya, you're too stingy! As a subordinate you should offer tribute!""Laila! Don't put bombs on the table! That's the second table you've blown up this week!"
Shirou stopped at the entrance and took a slow breath, forcing his hammering heart to steady.
Those voices—
They were the most beautiful music in the world.
Then he pushed the door open.
"Welcome!" Syr called brightly from inside.
Several tables had been pushed together. A group of girls in casual clothes sat around them, devouring food and drinks like the apocalypse had never happened.
Alise—still loud, still vibrant—raised a mug and laughed without a trace of "lady-like" restraint.
Kaguya—scowling as usual—was still quietly distributing plates, the textbook definition of "sharp tongue, soft hands."
Laila—perched on her chair like a gremlin—was already in the middle of stealing from someone else's plate with the skill of long practice.
And then—
A green-uniformed elf stood among them, pouring drinks.
Ryuu Lion.
Her hair was longer than the Ryuu he remembered. Her eyes weren't dead with cold grief anymore.
They were calm.
Warm.
The eyes of someone surrounded by love.
A small pendant hung at her neck—if you looked closely, it was a piece of wood polished into the shape of a sword.
As if she felt the gaze at the door, Ryuu paused and turned.
Their eyes met.
Time stopped.
The laughter, the clinking glasses, the shouting—gone.
Only the reflection of each other remained in their pupils.
Ryuu's hand tilted unconsciously.
Liquid spilled from the bottle onto the table, unnoticed.
Confusion flashed across her face—then shock—then…
A familiarity so deep it hurt.
Something that had crossed seven years of distance.
"Ryuu?" Alise teased, turning around. "What, you frozen because a handsome guy walked in—?"
And then Alise froze too.
The chicken drumstick in her hand dropped onto the floor with a sad little plop.
Red hair.Amber eyes.
Older, more mature, different clothes—
But the feeling was the same.
The boy who had stood in front of them in the darkest night and said:
"Eat first."
Kaguya's chopsticks slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor.
"No…" she breathed. "That's… that can't be…"
"The… 'ghost chef'?"
The man who existed only in their memories.The one who appeared and vanished like a miracle.
Silence spread through the room. Even Mama Mia behind the counter stopped wiping her glass, watching with obvious interest.
Shirou stood in the doorway, looking at them—grown up, still stubbornly bright, still alive.
He inhaled, then offered that familiar, reassuring smile.
"Sorry I'm late," he said. "Is there… any of today's special left?"
Ryuu's entire body trembled.
She set the bottle down and walked toward him one step at a time, each footfall unreal, like she was moving through a dream she was terrified to wake from.
She stopped in front of him, lifted her head—
Her eyes turned red in an instant.
"You…" she whispered. "Are you really… the one from back then…?"
Shirou nodded, gaze gentle.
"I'm Shirou Emiya."
"That… passing blacksmith."
"Idiot."
Ryuu broke.
She threw herself into his arms—right there, in front of everyone, forgetting reputation, forgetting status, forgetting even the blonde sword princess standing nearby.
"Idiot! Idiot! You absolute idiot!"
She pounded his chest and sobbed as if her lungs were tearing apart.
"Why did you only come back now?! We looked for you for seven years! Seven years!"
"You disappeared that day… no body, nothing… we thought… we thought you—"
"Sorry." Shirou wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
This wasn't a dream.
This was the reality he had bled for.
"I'm here now," he said softly. "I came back."
Alise barreled in next, crying openly, and nearly crushed Ryuu against him in a bone-breaking hug.
"You jerk!" she shouted through tears. "You told us to live smiling—so we did! We kept the promise! We've been smiling and living, every day!"
Laila followed, clinging to him like a koala.
"Me too! I want a hug!"
Kaguya tried to look annoyed—
and then silently pushed her way in anyway, cheeks suspiciously wet.
In seconds, Shirou was drowned in Astraea Familia's arms and noise.
So this was what they meant by "being smothered by happiness."
If this was how he died, he thought, it wouldn't be a bad way to go.
And then—
Aiz, who had been standing at the side this whole time, stared at the scene with a blank expression.
Her croquettes suddenly tasted like betrayal.
A strange feeling crawled up from deep inside her small brain:
a crisis.
"Emiya…" Aiz's cheeks puffed out. A dark aura began to leak from her—Wind Spirit magic, but emotionally corrupted.
"…Explain."
"Who are they?"
"Why are they… touching you."
The air got colder.
Shirou poked his head out of the hug-pile, sweat suddenly running down his back.
"Uhh… Aiz, if I told you they're my… 'debts from a previous life'—"
"I don't believe you," Aiz said, drawing her sword with the calm inevitability of judgment.
"Execution."
"WAIT—! I can explain! This is unavoidable! It's worldline convergence! HELP—!"
From the side, Syr's smile sharpened into something dangerously sweet as she watched the "harem formation" expand.
"Oh my," Syr murmured. "New rivals… and it's a whole Familia?"
Her hand, at some point, had acquired a kitchen knife.
"Hm. Then perhaps… the 'kidnapping plan' should be moved up."
"Tonight," she decided pleasantly.
"Pack him up and take him away."
That day, the Hostess of Fertility witnessed the most legendary "battlefield of romance" in recorded history.
No one died.
But Shirou Emiya's wallet and mental stability suffered catastrophic damage.
He paid the entire bill.
Then he paid again in apologies.
Then he paid again in trying to calm down multiple women who were all seconds away from fully committing to violence.
And yet—
Looking at their faces—loud, alive, noisy, real—
Shirou felt something settle inside him.
This was the ending he wanted.
This was the Happy End of a "hero of justice."
But the story didn't end there.
Because Astraea Familia surviving meant Orario's history had been rewritten at the foundation level.
The butterfly effect was already gathering into a storm.
Later, after the chaos faded, Ryuu sat beside Shirou and handed him a drink.
Her eyes were still red—but her expression was serious in a way that mattered.
"Shirou," she said quietly. "Now that you're back…"
"Help us again."
"Help with what?"
Ryuu lowered her voice.
"The… man-made labyrinth."
"Even with the Dark Faction suppressed, it still exists. And lately… it's been moving again."
"We suspect that god—Thanatos—hasn't stopped."
"And it may be connected to something underground. A… 'great hole.'"
Shirou's fingers tightened around the cup.
So even if the past changed, some evils still remained.
If the root wasn't cut out, tragedy would simply find a new route.
"…Alright," Shirou said, tapping his cup against hers.
His amber eyes sharpened, the warmth turning into resolve.
"Whether it's the man-made labyrinth… or some crooked god…"
"As long as they try to destroy this everyday life…"
"I'll go back and cut them down again."
That was the new oath of the hero named "Unlimited," in this reconstructed worldline.
....
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