The storm had passed, and time flowed on

Space was cleaved open--

A voice, in Imitation tone, mimicking a stage narrator, began to speak.

"It's not unusual for Servants to have abilities related to space; teleportation, Reality Marble, and even the Gate of Babylon all allow them to manipulate space to some extent."

However, this was different from the attack Caster had made; that wasn't 'manipulation,' but rather, literally, 'cleaving.'

Space, this objective form relative to time, this conceptual existence, was thus sliced open, revealing a huge, crescent-shaped wound, through which only emptiness could be seen.

Perhaps worried that his audience wouldn't understand, the storyteller explained it again using many words, which earned him a "Oh~" of admiration from the listeners, who seemed to understand but were actually quite impressed.

"It seemed as if the wounded space was healing itself, and everything around the wound—the ground, the air, the Black Mud, the archer, and the caster—was being pulled toward that side by a powerful suction force."

The Black Mud kept flowing towards that place, and at the same time, the Holy Grail was also constantly flowing out of Black Mud. As much as it was absorbed, it produced the same amount. Only then did everyone truly realize just how enormous the amount of All the World's Evils moment.

Rider left at full speed before the space was torn open. Archer, seeing the situation was bad, also wanted to leave, but the Chains of Heaven were entangled by Lancer, and Archer himself was being held down by Berserker, so he had no way to escape.

To escape the entanglement, Archer opened his entire treasury, unleashing countless swords at Lancer and Berserker. They couldn't dodge, nor did they want to; they didn't even flinch until their deaths.

At this point, the narrator paused, a nostalgic glint in his eyes, but this was quickly interrupted by the listener's impatient urging. He took a sip to moisten his throat and continued.

"After unleashing that attack, Caster collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. But seeing Berserker and Lancer fall in battle, she somehow found renewed strength and leaped up, charging straight at Archer, who was trying to escape, slamming him into the wound. Caster, having exhausted his last bit of strength, couldn't stop himself and fell in as well."

Then, for reasons unknown, after Caster was sucked in, the suction force of the wound suddenly increased. The rate at which the Holy Grail was gushing out Black Mud could no longer keep up with its absorption rate. This process lasted for several minutes. Finally, the Holy Grail stopped producing Black Mud, and a halo of holy light surrounded it—presumably, there was no longer any 'evil' inside. At this point, probably because the mission was completed, the wound stopped absorbing anything else and gradually closed up.

"That concludes the story of the final events of the Fourth Holy Grail War."

The narrator thus declared the story over, but the listener, seemingly unsatisfied, stood up from his stool and exclaimed:

"That's not enough at all! You haven't even mentioned whose wish the purified Holy Grail ultimately granted! And what happened to Saber and Rider who survived? You guys always say Caster is beautiful, like a doll, but our dolls at home are just so-so! And also, since Caster is so powerful, capable of providing enough mana to summon the Holy Grail all by herself, how could she be defeated by Archer?"

Despite the commotion, the storyteller wasn't angry. He just smiled helplessly, "Those questions are from another story, we'll talk about them next time. As for the dolls, I think the ones in your house are a bit different from the ones we usually think of..."

"It's always 'next time'! You never finish what you wanted to say! It's so annoying!"

The listener started jumping on the stool, hoping to compensate for the height difference and reach the speaker's head. However, this action was quite dangerous, and the listener lost their footing and fell off the stool.

"Ah!"

The scream came from the narrator—who had just used himself as a human cushion to cushion the listener's descent at lightning speed.

"What happened?"

Because of the commotion, the door to the room was opened, and two girls walked in. Both of them had waist-length hair, but one had bright silver-white hair and the other had dark black hair like the night sky.

The black-haired girl was tall and curvaceous, while the silver-haired girl was relatively petite. Strangely, the latter was actually older than the former.

"Chloe! Lady doesn't jump around on a stool!"

The silver-haired girl knew what had happened the moment she entered and saw the scene, while the listener she had singled out for criticism remained indifferent.

"Lady can pretend to be ladies!"

The listener—a little girl who looked to be about eight or nine years old—had a face shape that was about 80-90% similar to the silver-haired girl, and her skin was a bit darker. Basically, anyone who saw them would think they were sisters.

"Who installed this?!"

"That's exactly it! You love to snuggle in your dad's arms but try to act all grown-up, and you secretly rub against his coat in private—"

"Aaaaaaah! How could you—no, stop talking!"

Enraged that her secret had been exposed, the silver-haired girl tried to grab her sister, but the latter took advantage of her smaller size to outmaneuver her. Just as she was laughing triumphantly, she found herself being lifted up by the scruff of her neck.

"Chloe, that's not good!"

The black-haired girl had somehow already touched her back.

"Okay~ Hmm, I got it!"

Perhaps because she was naturally bad at dealing with that kind of person, the little girl called Chloe quickly gave in, and as soon as she was put down, she started making faces at her sister again.

After conveying the message "I'll deal with you when we get back" with her eyes, the silver-haired girl bowed to the narrator and said, "It's about time, Chloe and I will take our leave."

Ignoring her younger sister's clamor, "I still want to listen to Uncle Kariya's story!", she turned to the black-haired girl.

"I learned a lot today, thank you, Sakura."

"Not at all, I'm the one who has benefited the most."

Let's exchange Magecraft another time.

"Okay, let me see you off. I was just about to go out anyway."

My name is Sakura Matou. I'm an ordinary girl who also works as a Magecraft. My daily life includes attending classes, helping Uncle Kariya with housework, and learning Magecraft.

Walking with me now are my good friend Illya and her sister Chloe. They belong to a very ancient foreign noble family— the Einzbern Family. They are also both Magecraft.

I probably wouldn't have crossed paths with them, but ten years ago something happened that changed the course of many people's lives. I met Illya's mother at that time, and we made a promise to be friends with her daughter and to visit her home.

I thought it was just a casual joke, but it came true—at least part of it. I didn't get the chance to travel to the beautiful Europe that lady described. Instead, her family moved to the East after going through many things. It seems that Uncle Kariya helped a bit during this process, but I was too young to remember. Anyway, our two families had a lot of exchanges afterward, and I gradually became familiar with Illya.

She is now my irreplaceable best friend.

As for Chloe, she was born to Illya's parents after they settled in Fuyuki City. Despite being biological sisters, their personalities are completely different.

However, Uncle Kariya seems to really like her. Every time he comes to visit, he treats her well and tells her stories, which sometimes makes me a little jealous.

But then Uncle Kariya would say, "Sakura was so well-behaved when she was little, she never acted spoiled with me. I'm just looking for that feeling of being spoiled." I could only let him be.

"Cherry!"

The elegant and beautiful woman with Red Coat and twin ponytail that I encountered on my way to take Illya and the others is my older sister Rin Tohsaka.

Why do my sister and I have different surnames? That's another story.

My older sister is exceptionally talented. I've admired her since I was little, and that admiration has only grown stronger as I've grown older. She's beautiful, knowledgeable, and incredibly capable—a truly dazzling person.

Sometimes I secretly think, since we share the same bloodline, could I become as amazing as my sister? It's kind of arrogant, isn't it?

"Since we're already here, Chloe and I can go back on our own. Sakura, it's rare for you and Rin to run into each other, so talk to each other more."

Actually, it's not that hard for us to see each other, Illya. Uncle Kariya would be very welcoming if my sister came to our house, but he doesn't like me visiting her.

"Ah! Rin! I remember that name! She's from Uncle Kariya's story, the one who was captured by the enemy at the crucial moment of the final battle, dragging everyone down with her..."

"What are you saying, you brat!"

Well, if my sister could change her temper, she would definitely make a leap in growth.

In the end Chloe was caught and given a good scolding by her sister. After all, her sister used to be... well, she should be called a brat, so she naturally knew very well how to deal with her own kind.

How is Mom?

"It's not bad, especially since Dad has become more and more humane, which has made Mom very happy. But you should come visit her occasionally."

How's things at home?

"It's barely okay. My father said that the magic that seeped into the soil of the yard back then is almost completely purified."

"But a new cycle is about to begin, and then we'll have to summon the Holy Grail again. I hope Father won't waste his efforts."

"It shouldn't be that bad—wait a minute, Sakura, what's that on the back of your hand?"

"It should be the same thing as what's on the back of your hand, sister."

"Sakura! Could it be...?"

"Sorry, Uncle Kariya is still waiting for me. Let's talk again next time."

After chatting with my sister for a couple of minutes, I had to leave because I had other things to do.

"I'm back." While changing my shoes in the foyer, I noticed two unfamiliar pairs of shoes. It seemed we had some guests.

"Welcome back." Uncle Kariya's voice came from the living room, followed by two other voices—

"Sakura-san is back."

"Oh, oh, oh, little girl, it's been years! You've grown into a beautiful young woman!"

After putting down the things I had just bought, I went inside to greet the guests.

"Welcome, Mr. El-Melloi, Your Majesty Iskandar."

You can call me Velvet or Weber here.

"Hahaha, since it's a name earned through hard work, it should be widely known throughout the world! What's there to be embarrassed about?"

"I know that, but sometimes, I just want to be Weber for a while."

The two started interacting again. I bowed slightly to them and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Knowing they were coming, I went out to buy ingredients—Mr. El-Melloi is one of Uncle Kariya's few friends, a big shot at the Clock Tower, and has helped me a lot in my learning of Magecraft. Accompanying him are even more distinguished individuals, so we must serve them dishes befitting their status.

Even for me, this is quite a challenge.

As I prepared the ingredients in the kitchen, I listened to the conversations coming from outside.

"Yanye, your house hasn't been renovated in all these years, it's still the same."

"Sakura wants to keep it as it is, after all, Caster and she were the ones who managed it back then."

"Oh~"

"Tell me about yourselves, what brings you all here in Japan all of a sudden?"

"I come back to visit every year, okay? -- It's a little earlier this year, but don't tell me you don't know why."

Oh, right, I haven't mentioned it yet. Mr. El-Melloi and his companion, Mr. Iskandar, spend a lot of time every year traveling the world, seemingly with the reason that "how can you conquer the world if you don't even know its full picture?"—something that sounds rather absurd.

Despite this, Mr. El-Melloi still produces many significant Magecraft research findings every year, all of which are completed during his travels, and he seems to have entrusted Uncle Kariya to help him organize and publish those researches—they maintain regular correspondence between them.

He also comes to Fuyuki City every year, sometimes alone and sometimes with Mr. Iskandar, but in recent years he has come alone. This year, Mr. Iskandar was able to suspend his "conquest of the world" to accompany him because something special was about to happen.

"... So, have you decided on the candidates this time?"

"Sakura and Rin were both chosen, as well as that Kiritsugu Emiya's daughter."

"Rin? Could it be Tokiomi Tohsaka's... Well, I won't mention his name—but to be honest, this guy has made a lot of appearances at the Clock Tower these past few years and has made many outstanding contributions. The people in the Association have a very high opinion of him."

"Cut!"

"And what about Kiritsugu Emiya's daughter—what is he thinking? Is he planning to find another Servant's Spirit Core to use as a heart? Speaking of which, if it's him, I remember that sword sheath is still in their possession?"

"Hahahaha, so does that mean I'll have a chance to see little King Arthur again? Then my trip back this time was definitely worthwhile. Ten years ago, she realized her naivety and gave up that meaningless wish. Will she have grown since then? I'm really looking forward to it."

"We're not here to fight!"

"I know! It's to replenish my expeditionary force with new recruits!"

"No, that's not it! We're here as supervisors representing the Mage's Association. The Association has completely lost trust in outsiders because of the Holy Church's collusion with the Tohsaka Family last time."

"But you didn't take them seriously either, did you? So let me see what kind of heroes will appear this time, and then let them join the Macedonia army!"

Please drive carefully.

"Hahahaha, don't worry about that, Miss Sakura, my path to conquest is smooth sailing!"

After seeing the guests to the door and watching them disappear into the night sky in an oxcart, I turned and went back into my room.

I summoned my shadow to carry the drunken Uncle Kariya to bed and covered him with a blanket. Generally speaking, I don't allow Uncle Kariya to drink, but the fatigue accumulated from managing the Matou Family's business over the years needs an outlet, and today, with such an important guest, I didn't say much. After saying goodnight and about to leave, I suddenly heard a soft sound from the person on the bed.

"Aoi... Aoi..."

Upon hearing that name, I froze in place.

I understand Uncle Kariya's feelings for my mother, but I don't think I have much to say about this. If my mother had really chosen Uncle Kariya back then, my sister and I wouldn't have been born. But the person who took our place as my mother's children would have had to endure the torment from Zouken Matou. At the same time, without my mother's support, I don't know if my father could continue on the path of Magecraft, and I don't know what the outcome of the war ten years ago would have been.

--Forget it, there's no point in assuming any of this now. As long as we're all living our lives well, that's enough.

Besides, I also know what it feels like to miss someone.

That's right, just like Uncle Kariya, I also have a name hidden in my heart. Although I don't usually show it, it will surface at certain times and disturb my mind.

That person rescued me from endless torment, that person comforted me during my most vulnerable moments, that person Church me how to smile again, that person gave me the life I have now, and even that person saved the world.

Uncle Kariya, sister, father, mother, Illya, Lady Alice, Mr. El-Melloi, Mr. Iskandar, and everyone else who is still alive in this world, were all saved by that person.

However, I will never see that person again. The two short weeks we spent together were the entirety of our destiny in this life.

I long to see her again, to hear her make me laugh again, to taste her cooking again, to be held in her arms again, to stroke her beautiful silver hair again...

But that's impossible; she has already left this world.

Knowing the reality, I had been suppressing these feelings, but recently, something happened that loosened that seal.

Mr. El-Melloi's explanation was that "the Holy Grail descended ten years ago using the Caster's own magical power, and not much of the magical power actually collected by the ley lines was consumed, so the amount that would normally take sixty years to accumulate could be gathered in just ten years." But I don't care about any of that.

The reason for it doesn't matter, as long as the result is what I want.

I looked at the red pattern that appeared on the back of my right hand—this was the opportunity I had to seize, the chance to realize my wish.

Although I don't own any items that are connected to that person, I firmly believe that my own strong will is enough to summon her to my side.

How much time has passed since then?

Floating in a void, Jizi had long forgotten about time. There was neither light nor darkness, neither time nor space. All her senses were rendered useless. The only thing she was certain of was that she seemed not to be dead.

Using his last bit of strength, he Gilgamesh into the Crescent Moon Break, then collapsed from exhaustion himself—what a humiliating exit!

But everyone else seems alright... Sakura and the others, are they all okay...?

And, the reason I promised to help the gods deal with the All the World's Evil—

The moment Jizi stepped into this place, she seemed to see a picture in her mind: her younger sister's face, with eyes as bright as stars, without blindness or wounds.

Perhaps this is the final explanation that the gods gave to themselves.

Having lost all attachments and unable to feel anything, Jizi finally ceased thinking in this void.

A long time passed...

"... those who wish to follow this principle..."

What?

"... respond..."

Sound appeared in an environment where nothing, including time, had any meaning.

"... come to my side..."

Is someone calling me? But who is it?

Upon arriving at the Basement, she found a summoning circle that Sakura had already drawn using precious Magecraft materials. Since she didn't Props time, she figured it was always better to be prepared early.

The arrival of those two guests today is a symbol—the time has come.

With her hands clasped together in prayer, Sakura slowly recited the incantation she knew by heart:

"Announcement..."

"Your body obeys my commands, my destiny is entrusted to your sword..."

As the incantation continued, the Magic Circle began to glow. The air in the sealed room swirled and gathered towards the center of the Magic Circle. When the final word was uttered—

"Come here from the Wheel of Restraint! Guardian of the Scales!"

As I anticipated, the light from the Magic Circle grew stronger and stronger, and then, after a sudden explosion, something appeared there.

In the blinding light, Sakura seemed to see a strand of dazzling silver hair--

------------------END--------------------------------