My Fates Codex in Type-Moon

Two miraculous geniuses, and a womb that had created a miracle. Even with the Clock Tower's protection, the magi would never let them go.

By then, Sakura had to possess the strength to protect herself.

But all of that had already been decided... Kariya abruptly turned to Sakutsuki.

"You're leaving?"

The golden-eyed young man nodded gently. "I don't have much time left. Since you've gained the qualifications, I can leave without worry."

As if sensing his reluctance, Sakutsuki chuckled and shook his head, making a promise.

"I'll rest for a year, then come back."

Clenching his teeth, Kariya ultimately said nothing. He watched Sakutsuki wash the dishes, bid farewell to him and Sakura, then put on his suit as though heading out as usual and vanished from their sight with steady steps.

That departure lasted an entire year.

Throughout that year, Kariya never gave up training in magecraft. He also continued teaching Sakura, ensuring that she would not lose her most precious emotions on the path of thaumaturgy. Sakura, meanwhile, had begun studying the incredibly obscure Imaginary Numbers Magic. Under the influence of Mystery, even her body underwent strange changes...

And when the day of fate arrived, Kariya Matou raised his right hand, a trace of anticipation flashing across his increasingly resolute face.

"Holy Grail War... I'll make you pay, Tokiomi Tohsaka."

"And Sakutsuki, you little bastard, don't disappoint me."

Let us return to that day of farewell, one year earlier.

After saying goodbye to Kariya Matou and Sakura, Sakutsuki did not linger. He immediately made his way to Mount Enzou, the site of Fuyuki's greatest Ley Line.

The mountain peak where dragons were said to have once dwelled silently welcomed this strange visitor.

Like a mountain demon from a hundred eerie tales, the young man drifted along the mountain path and entered a vast cavern known as Dragon's Cave.

This was where the Ley Lines converged, and where the Greater Grail's ritual array was located.

Standing at the center of the cavern, Sakutsuki wore a solemn expression. After taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

His remaining active time—his life—had never been long to begin with. Now that his preparations were complete, it was time to reduce this body's consumption and await the coming Holy Grail War.

Then... continue the life whose ending he could already see.

As a deep-blue magic circle emerged, his figure seemed to dissolve, vanishing into faint crimson patterns.

Existence dispersed. Consciousness making contact with the Greater Grail.

Third Magic fragment used.

Entering hibernation. Estimated awakening time: 7,000 hours.

Individual activity consumption reduced. Estimated remaining activity time: 7,400 hours.

That was 1994, an unforgettable year.

The great Fuyuki City fire began.

The Fuyuki Civic Hall, built with an investment of more than eight billion yen, collapsed overnight. A black torrent of destruction descended from the heavens, pouring over it like a waterfall.

And so, the slaughter began.

People had been enjoying their sleep. The black mud of death caught the scent of their lives and became blazing curses that attacked them.

It burned homes. It burned gardens. Whether they were asleep or awake and trying to flee, all were burned until not even their bones remained.

More than five hundred people died. One hundred and thirty-four buildings were destroyed.

The feast of death dyed the night sky crimson, lingering without end.

Amid that unparalleled destruction, the sole survivor collapsed on the ground, staring blankly as he etched the horrific scene before him into his mind.

Though he was called a survivor, he knew full well that even that description would soon cease to apply.

Next, I'll be burned to death by the flames, swallowed by the black mud, or choke to death in the smoke, won't I?

The pain was beyond imagination. Even living was torture. Dying outright almost seemed easier.

But a man who looked like a walking corpse found me.

...I still remembered that man's expression.

His eyes brimmed with tears, and he was genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart to have found a living person.

—Because his expression had been so overjoyed.

It made me think that the one who had been saved was not me, but that man.

Yet those feelings, that emotion, had been utterly real. They had reached me.

Ah...

I decided then. I would bear that man's expectations. As a survivor, I would live in place of those who had perished.

My life would be one of dedication. I would live for others.

A red figure flickered endlessly within platinum light. By now, it was impossible to tell whether it was the memories of a transmigrator or fragments that had traveled back from distant time.

Only that obsession was incomparably real, branded deep into the young man's mind.

If only... if he could return to before that disaster—

He would absolutely, absolutely, absolutely... absolutely stop it!

Magecraft was something beyond common sense: a phenomenon that accomplished things possible under common sense through unconventional means.

But magecraft did not encompass "things humanity could not achieve." The ability to accomplish such things was called Magic.

In the end—

Magecraft was human knowledge, and it was also the world.

Magic lay outside of that. It was a solitude suspended beyond the heavens.

The First that began it all changed everything.

The Second that followed acknowledged countless worlds.

The Third that carried on from it showed the future.

The Fourth that came after concealed itself.

And the Fifth, which ended it all, had long since lost its meaning—its seat.

Of the Magics still remaining in the world, aside from the Second and Fifth, the rest continued to await humanity's picking like the fruit of Eden.

The Third Magic: Materialization of the Soul. Based on the infinite energy of a perpetually moving soul, it created a perfect body worthy of an immortal soul as its template.

What it envisioned was a new possibility for humanity's future.

During his slumber, Sakutsuki gradually absorbed the fragment of the Third Magic and finally saw part of its true nature.

So long as the soul did not perish, its energy would be infinite. And an immortal soul was sustained by emotions—emotions became power, and souls created miracles. Those who had lost all seven emotions and six desires were merely walking corpses, unqualified to complete the Third Magic.

That was precisely why the Winter Saint, an artificial human, could never master the Third Magic. Nor could the Einzbern, sealed away amid wind and snow, fulfill their long-cherished wish.

Not even with the Greater Grail.

"...You carry a familiar scent."

Black sludge surged forth, outlining a curvaceous figure. She leaned down beside the sleeping man and breathed against him.

"Empty, possessing nothing, one who does not belong to this world, one who hates and yet deeply loves humanity."

"If you seek salvation, then fill me."

And so, the sleeping man awoke from his dazzling, bizarre dream.

Consciousness awakened. Existence undergoing reconstruction.

Reconstruction successful.

Estimated activity time: 700 hours.

Platinum particles gathered, reshaping a lean body. Naked, the young man stood at the center of the great hollow with his eyes closed. He extended a hand, retrieved clothes from a diamond-shaped space, and dressed himself before finally opening his golden eyes.

Long-missed magical energy filled his body, hastening Sakutsuki's return to consciousness. The activity of the Ley Line around him also silently foretold the arrival of a certain moment.

It was now one year later.

The seemingly tranquil Fuyuki City had already become a convergence point for storms, welcoming challengers willing to risk everything for their wishes.

"So that's it... It's beginning." With a flick of his sleeve, the handsome young man smiled. The passing year seemed to have left no mark on him; even his elegant kimono was as pristine as ever.

But now, he was ready to face the Holy Grail War.

Now—it was time to summon a Heroic Spirit.

Spreading his hands, he moved his fingers rhythmically, as though connecting two distant places beyond the surrounding world. Molten iron that had long been sealed away flowed from between them.

For Sakutsuki, whose element was "Sword," molten iron made from a melted ritual sword was the best summoning material.

The molten iron drew the pattern of a magic circle upon the ground. Four retreating circles were drawn first, then enclosed within the summoning circle. The order could not be changed.

Though it was knowledge he had memorized inside and out at the Einzbern household, Sakutsuki still reviewed it repeatedly to avoid even the slightest possibility of error.

Taking a deep breath, the young man closed his eyes and spoke loudly as though sensing something.

"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill!"

"Repeat five times, yet discard it when it is filled."

As the syllables left his lips, a switch somewhere between tangible and intangible opened within Sakutsuki.

From that moment onward, Sakutsuki stripped away the human part of his existence and became nothing more than a component meant to complete a Mystery.

His human consciousness conveyed pain, recoiling from Sakutsuki's abandonment of the attribute of "human."

And that pain occurred simultaneously in hidden corners across different places.

"Silver and iron as the foundation, stone and the Archduke of contracts as the origin. My ancestor, Schweinorg. Let the wind of descent be blocked by walls of iron, let the four gates be closed, and let the cycle endlessly turn from the crown to the three-forked road leading to the kingdom."

Beneath the Tohsaka Residence in Miyama Town, Tokiomi Tohsaka chanted aloud while drawing a magic circle. The material used was not the blood of living sacrifices, but gemstones melted into liquid. For this day, Tokiomi had accumulated countless gems infused with magical energy. Today, he used them all in the ritual without hesitation, even if it meant taking on enormous debt.

Standing beside his mentor, Kirei Kotomine stared directly at the relic placed upon the altar.

It was said to be the fossilized skin shed by the first snake in the world.

Thinking of the Heroic Spirit that relic would summon, even Kirei could not help but feel fear.

Now, he finally understood the source of Tokiomi's confidence. No Servant could possibly defeat the Heroic Spirit Tokiomi had chosen.

"Will such a simple ritual really be enough?"

Within Winter's Castle, where wind and snow filled the sky, Irisviel looked at the plain summoning circle on the floor—simple to the point of being crude—with some surprise.

"You may be disappointed, but summoning a Servant does not require such an elaborate spirit-descending ritual."

Kiritsugu Emiya carefully inspected the pattern drawn in mercury for crooked or mottled sections as he explained.

"That is because the one actually summoning the Servant is not the magus, but the Holy Grail. As the Master, all I need to do is anchor the manifested Servant to this world and provide magical energy to materialize them."

Apparently satisfied with the completed magic circle, the man stood and glanced at the altar in its center, where the summoning catalyst had been placed.

It was a sword sheath with a golden base and blue lines. A faint glimmer passed over it, illuminating the inscription carved upon the sheath.

Kiritsugu Emiya stared at that significant relic, a hint of gravity flashing through his eyes.

If his guess was correct, this Holy Grail War would likely be even more troublesome than he had imagined.

"It's starting, Iris." He spoke softly.

"Let's begin, Sakura. Stand farther back."